How common is the surname Sheehan?

26,902 people in the United States had the surname Sheehan in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 11,477 Americans. It ranked 1,305th of 162,253 surnames.

What ethnicity is the surname Sheehan?

In the 2010 Census, 95% of people named Sheehan identified as white (not Hispanic), and 2.2% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

Who is the most famous person named Sheehan?

Cindy Sheehan, American antiwar activist, followed by Billy Sheehan.

Where is the surname Sheehan most common?

Wikidata records people named Sheehan in the United States.

Is the surname Sheehan getting more or less common?

More common. 26,107 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 26,902 in 2010, up 3.0%.

The surname Sheehan

An Irish patronymic surname, carried by 26,902 people in the United States.

2 syllables Soundex S500

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Sheehan is more common than 99.2% of them.

Origin

Irish origin

Reduced Anglicized form of Irish Ó Síodhacháin (“descendant of Síodhachán”), a personal name derived from a diminutive of síodhach (“peaceful”).

Sheehan is a patronymic surname: formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.

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 26,902 people named Sheehan in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 11,477 Americans. That is up 3.0% since 2000, when the Census counted 26,107.

#1,305

rank among US surnames

26,902

people in 2010

9.1

per 100,000 Americans

+3%

change since 2000 (was #1,233)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#1,296	Polk	27,094	11,395
#1,297	Lemus	27,079	11,402
#1,298	Covington	27,068	11,406
#1,299	Madrigal	27,033	11,421
#1,300	Clemons	27,022	11,426
#1,301	Rosado	26,998	11,436
#1,302	Broussard	26,971	11,447

Who is named Sheehan

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

95% of people named Sheehan identified as white (not Hispanic), 2.2% as Hispanic or Latino (any race) and 1.3% as two or more races.

White (not Hispanic) 95%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.2%
Two or more races 1.3%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.8%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.3%
Black (not Hispanic) 0.2%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Sheehans

5 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Cindy Sheehan
American antiwar activist, born 1957
Billy Sheehan
American bassist, born 1953
Neil Sheehan
American writer, historian, soldier (1936-2021)
Doug Sheehan
American actor (1949–2024)
Winfield Sheehan
American film producer and executive (1883-1945)

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Variant spellings

Shawhan

Surnames that sound like Sheehan

Sheehan has the Soundex code S500, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code S500.

Other Irish surnames

All 880 Irish surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Sheehan come from?: Reduced Anglicized form of Irish Ó Síodhacháin (“descendant of Síodhachán”), a personal name derived from a diminutive of síodhach (“peaceful”).
How common is the surname Sheehan?: 26,902 people in the United States had the surname Sheehan in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 11,477 Americans. It ranked 1,305th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Sheehan?: In the 2010 Census, 95% of people named Sheehan identified as white (not Hispanic), and 2.2% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).
Who is the most famous person named Sheehan?: Cindy Sheehan, American antiwar activist, followed by Billy Sheehan.
Where is the surname Sheehan most common?: Wikidata records people named Sheehan in the United States.
What type of surname is Sheehan?: Sheehan is a patronymic surname, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.
Is the surname Sheehan getting more or less common?: More common. 26,107 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 26,902 in 2010, up 3.0%.
What are other spellings of Sheehan?: Shawhan.