2000
#13,080
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,146
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.80
Rare Last name
Shurtleff
Derived from a place name meaning "short cliff" in Old English, likely referring to someone who lived near one.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,103 Americans carry the last name Shurtleff. That puts it at #15,395 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.61 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 162,984 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Shurtleff 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
2.1K
1 in 162,984
Census rank
#15,395
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,834 bearers of the surname Shurtleff in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.61 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15395th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Shurtleff, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.9%) and Two or More Races (3.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Shurtleff
The surname Shurtleff has its origins in England, tracing back to the late 11th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old English words "scort" meaning short and "hlife" meaning hill or ridge. This suggests the name may have originally referred to someone who lived on or near a short hill or ridge.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Shurtleff can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Sortelif" or "Schortelif". This medieval census commissioned by William the Conqueror provides valuable insight into the distribution and prevalence of surnames in various parts of England during that time period.
By the 13th century, the name had evolved into variations such as "Shortleff" and "Shurtleff". These spellings were commonly found in records and documents from counties like Essex, Suffolk, and Norfolk in eastern England. The name was particularly prevalent in the village of Gestingthorpe, located in the northern part of Essex.
One notable bearer of the Shurtleff name was Thomas Shurtleff, a merchant and colonist who was born in England around 1590. He later emigrated to Massachusetts Bay Colony in the early 1630s and became one of the first settlers of Marshfield, Massachusetts. His descendants went on to establish a prominent family lineage in New England.
Another Shurtleff of historical significance was Nathaniel Bradstreet Shurtleff, born in Boston in 1810. He served as the Mayor of Boston from 1868 to 1870 and was a prominent figure in the city's political and social circles during the 19th century.
In the realm of literature, William Shurtleff (1795-1847) was an American author and educator known for his contributions to the development of educational materials and textbooks in the early 19th century.
The Shurtleff surname also found its way into the academic world with Benjamin Shurtleff (1737-1808), who was a physician and served as the second president of Harvard College (now Harvard University) from 1773 to 1808.
Lastly, Robert Shurtleff (1910-1992) was an American businessman and philanthropist who co-founded the Shurtleff Family Foundation, which has supported various educational and charitable initiatives over the years.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shurtleff
Among Census respondents with the surname Shurtleff, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.9%) and Two or More Races (3.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Shurtleff 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 Shurtleff surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.5% · 1,678
- Hispanic or Latino3.9% · 72
- Two or more races3.4% · 63
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 7
- Black or African American0.1% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Shurtleff
Shurtleff 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
#14,127
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,127
-19 bearers (-0.9%)
Per 100,000 0.72
Rank movement Down 1,047 places
2020
#15,395
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,834
-293 bearers (-13.8%)
Per 100,000 0.61
Rank movement Down 1,268 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,080 | 2,146 | 0.80 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,127 | 2,127 | 0.72 | -19 bearers (-0.9%) | Down 1,047 places |
| 2020 | #15,395 | 1,834 | 0.61 | -293 bearers (-13.8%) | Down 1,268 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 Shurtleff 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 | #14,127 | #15,395 | -9.0% |
| Count | 2,127 | 1,834 | -13.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.72 | 0.61 | -14.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Shurtleff bearers went from 2,127 to 1,834 (-13.8% change). The surname moved down 1,268 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,127 to #15,395.
FAQ
Shurtleff surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Shurtleff?
Name Census estimates that about 2,103 living Americans carry the surname Shurtleff. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 162,984 residents.
How common is Shurtleff?
Shurtleff ranks #15,395 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.61 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,834 people with the surname Shurtleff. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,103), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.61 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.61 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Shurtleff.
Has Shurtleff become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Shurtleff went from 2,127 recorded bearers to 1,834. That is a decrease of 293 (-13.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #14,127 to #15,395.
What does the Census say about the background of Shurtleff?
Among Census respondents with the surname Shurtleff, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.9%) and Two or More Races (3.4%). 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 Shurtleff in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.5% (1,678 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Shurtleff appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.5%), Hispanic (3.9%), Two or More Races (3.4%). 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 Shurtleff (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 Shurtleff mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "short cliff" in Old English, likely referring to someone who lived near one. 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 Shurtleff (0.61 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 common is the surname Shurtleff?
See how many people have the last name Shurtleff on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.