How common is the surname Shea?

33,329 people in the United States had the surname Shea in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 9,264 Americans. It ranked 1,048th of 162,253 surnames.

What ethnicity is the surname Shea?

In the 2010 Census, 94% of people named Shea identified as white (not Hispanic), and 2.3% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

Who is the most famous person named Shea?

John Shea, American actor and director, followed by Robert Shea.

Where is the surname Shea most common?

Wikidata records people named Shea in the United States.

Is the surname Shea getting more or less common?

More common. 32,069 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 33,329 in 2010, up 3.9%.

Is Shea also a first name?

Yes. Shea is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.

The surname Shea

An Irish surname, carried by 33,329 people in the United States.

Pronounced /ʃeɪ/ 1 syllable Soundex S000 Also a first name

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Shea is more common than 99.4% of them.

Origin

Irish origin

Anglicised from Irish Ó Séaghdha.

One of 880 Irish surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 33,329 people named Shea in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 9,264 Americans. That is up 3.9% since 2000, when the Census counted 32,069.

#1,048

rank among US surnames

33,329

people in 2010

per 100,000 Americans

+3.9%

change since 2000 (was #990)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#1,039	Kaiser	33,480	9,222
#1,040	Holder	33,465	9,226
#1,041	Bird	33,457	9,228
#1,042	Bonner	33,446	9,231
#1,043	Ferrell	33,418	9,239
#1,044	Cotton	33,374	9,251
#1,045	Dotson	33,347	9,259

Who is named Shea

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

94% of people named Shea identified as white (not Hispanic), 2.3% as Hispanic or Latino (any race) and 1.9% as Asian and Pacific Islander.

White (not Hispanic) 94%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.3%
Asian and Pacific Islander 1.9%
Two or more races 1.2%
Black (not Hispanic) 0.5%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.3%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Sheas

8 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

John Shea
American actor and director, born 1949
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, born 1952
Nicolette Shea
American pornographic actress, born 1986
Gloria Shea
American actress (1910-1995)
Katt Shea
American actress, director and producer, born 1957
Eric Shea
American actor, born 1960

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Shea

Shea has the Soundex code S000, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code S000.

Other Irish surnames

All 880 Irish surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Shea come from?: Anglicised from Irish Ó Séaghdha.
How common is the surname Shea?: 33,329 people in the United States had the surname Shea in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 9,264 Americans. It ranked 1,048th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Shea?: In the 2010 Census, 94% of people named Shea identified as white (not Hispanic), and 2.3% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).
Who is the most famous person named Shea?: John Shea, American actor and director, followed by Robert Shea.
Where is the surname Shea most common?: Wikidata records people named Shea in the United States.
How do you pronounce Shea?: Shea is /ʃeɪ/, one syllable.
Is the surname Shea getting more or less common?: More common. 32,069 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 33,329 in 2010, up 3.9%.
Is Shea also a first name?: Yes. Shea is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.