2000
#6,458
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,848
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.80
Rare Last name
Shumway
A habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "island way" or "island road" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 6,171 Americans carry the last name Shumway. That puts it at #6,107 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.80 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 55,543 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Shumway surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
6.2K
1 in 55,543
Census rank
#6,107
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,381 bearers of the surname Shumway in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.80 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6107th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Shumway, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Hispanic (3.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shumway
Among Census respondents with the surname Shumway, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Hispanic (3.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Shumway bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Shumway surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.7% · 4,936
- Two or more races3.5% · 189
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 188
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 36
- Black or African American0.3% · 16
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 16
Timeline
Historical Census data for Shumway
Shumway appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#6,434
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,278
+430 bearers (+8.9%)
Per 100,000 1.79
Rank movement Up 24 places
2020
#6,107
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,381
+103 bearers (+2.0%)
Per 100,000 1.80
Rank movement Up 327 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,458 | 4,848 | 1.80 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,434 | 5,278 | 1.79 | +430 bearers (+8.9%) | Up 24 places |
| 2020 | #6,107 | 5,381 | 1.80 | +103 bearers (+2.0%) | Up 327 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Shumway surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #6,434 | #6,107 | 5.1% |
| Count | 5,278 | 5,381 | 2.0% |
| Per 100K | 1.79 | 1.80 | 0.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Shumway bearers went from 5,278 to 5,381 (+2.0% change). The surname moved up 327 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,434 to #6,107.
FAQ
Shumway surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Shumway?
Name Census estimates that about 6,171 living Americans carry the surname Shumway. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 55,543 residents.
How common is Shumway?
Shumway ranks #6,107 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.80 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,381 people with the surname Shumway. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (6,171), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.8 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.80 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Shumway.
Has Shumway become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Shumway went from 5,278 recorded bearers to 5,381. That is an increase of 103 (+2.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #6,434 to #6,107.
What does the Census say about the background of Shumway?
Among Census respondents with the surname Shumway, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Hispanic (3.5%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Shumway in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.7% (4,936 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Shumway appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.7%), Two or More Races (3.5%), Hispanic (3.5%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Shumway (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Shumway mean?
A habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "island way" or "island road" in Old English. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Shumway (1.80 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many Americans have the surname Shumway?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.