Find out how popular the last name Shumway is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Shumway.

Shumway, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Shumway surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Shumway in America

Shumway is the 6434th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Shumway surname appeared 5,278 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Shumway.

We can also compare 2010 data for Shumway to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Shumway

The surname Shumway is an English occupational surname derived from the Old English word "schumacheree," which means "shoemaker." It is believed to have originated in the medieval period, around the 12th or 13th century, when surnames began to be adopted in England.

The earliest recorded instance of the name Shumway can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1195, where a man named Robert le Shumacheree is mentioned. This record suggests that the name was initially used as a descriptive term for someone who made or repaired shoes.

As the name evolved over time, various spellings emerged, such as Shomacher, Shomecher, and Shummacher, reflecting the regional dialects and variations in pronunciation. In some areas, the name took on a more localized form, such as Shoemaker or Shoemake.

One notable bearer of the Shumway surname was John Shumway, a English merchant and wool trader who lived in the 15th century. He is mentioned in the records of the Merchant Taylors' Company in London, where he was a member in the late 1400s.

Another early example is Thomas Shumway, a yeoman farmer from Gloucestershire, who was mentioned in the Lay Subsidy Rolls of 1524. This record provides insights into the social status and occupation of individuals bearing the Shumway name during the Tudor period.

In the 17th century, the Shumway family is recorded as having settled in the American colonies. One of the earliest documented Shumways in the New World was John Shumway, who was born in England around 1610 and immigrated to Massachusetts Bay Colony in the 1630s.

Another notable figure was Samuel Shumway, born in 1638 in Boston, Massachusetts. He was one of the early settlers of Groton, Connecticut, and his descendants played a significant role in the development of that region.

The Shumway surname also has connections to various place names in England. For example, the village of Shoemaker's Green in Hertfordshire is believed to have derived its name from the occupation of shoemaking, which may have been associated with individuals bearing the Shumway surname.

Throughout history, the Shumway name has been carried by individuals from diverse backgrounds and professions, including farmers, merchants, artisans, and even soldiers. While not a particularly common surname, it has left its mark on the historical records of both England and the American colonies.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Shumway

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Shumway.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Shumway was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Shumway has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Shumway was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Shumway, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!