# Shaw (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/shaw/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

An English topographic surname for someone who lived by a small wood or copse.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | not recorded |
| Type | place, taken from where an ancestor lived or came from |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 160,400 |
| US rank (2010) | 164 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 1,925 people |
| Change since 2000 | +3.4% (155,172 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

From shaw.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Shaw in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 72% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 21% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.4% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 1.5% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.8% |
| Two or more races | 2.1% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Shaw in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and England.

## People named Shaw

- Robert Shaw, British actor and writer (1927–1978)
- Irwin Shaw, American writer (1913–1984)
- Sebastian Shaw, British actor and author (1905–1994)
- Doc Shaw, American actor, singer and rapper (born 1992)
- Lindsey Shaw, American actress
- Vinessa Shaw, American actress
- Brewster H. Shaw, American astronaut
- Woody Shaw, American musician (1944-1989)
- Anna Howard Shaw, American physician and activist (1847-1919)
- Carol Shaw, American video game designer
- Martin Shaw, British actor
- Frankie Shaw, American actress, writer, directress and comedian

and 48 more on Wikidata.

## Similar surnames

Shah, Shea, Shay, Shao, Shew, Sha, Sá, Saw, Sawh, Seay, Su, Shi.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.