# Shea (surname)

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

A surname from Irish.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | Irish |
| Type | not recorded |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 33,329 |
| US rank (2010) | 1,048 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 9,264 people |
| Change since 2000 | +3.9% (32,069 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ʃeɪ/, 1 syllable |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

Anglicised from Irish Ó Séaghdha.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Shea 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) | 94% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 0.5% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.3% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 1.9% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.3% |
| Two or more races | 1.2% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Shea in the United States.

## People named Shea

- John Shea, American actor and director
- Robert Shea, American novelist and journalist (1933–1994)
- George Beverly Shea, American gospel singer and hymn composer born in Canada (1909–2013)
- Carol Shea-Porter, American politician
- Nicolette Shea, American pornographic actress
- Gloria Shea, American actress (1910-1995)
- Katt Shea, American actress, director and producer
- Eric Shea, American actor

## Similar surnames

Shaw, Shah, Shay, Sheehy, Shao, Shue, Shuey, Shew, Shieh, Sha, Seay, Saha.

## 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.