How common is the surname Sheldon?

19,339 people in the United States had the surname Sheldon in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 15,965 Americans. It ranked 1,855th of 162,253 surnames.

What ethnicity is the surname Sheldon?

In the 2010 Census, 91% of people named Sheldon identified as white (not Hispanic), and 2.6% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

Who is the most famous person named Sheldon?

Sidney Sheldon, American writer (1917–2007), followed by Alice Bradley Sheldon.

Where is the surname Sheldon most common?

Wikidata records people named Sheldon in the United States and the United Kingdom.

How do you pronounce Sheldon?

Sheldon is /ˈʃɛldən/, 2 syllables.

Is the surname Sheldon getting more or less common?

More common. 19,246 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 19,339 in 2010, up 0.5%.

Is Sheldon also a first name?

Yes. Sheldon 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 Sheldon

An English place surname, carried by 19,339 people in the United States.

Pronounced /ˈʃɛldən/ 2 syllables Soundex S435 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). Sheldon is more common than 98.9% of them.

Origin

English origin

From Old English scylf (“shelf”) + dūn (“hill”) or denu (“valley”).

Sheldon is a place surname: taken from where an ancestor lived or came from.

One of 1,446 English surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 19,339 people named Sheldon in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 15,965 Americans. That is about the same as in 2000, when the Census counted 19,246.

#1,855

rank among US surnames

19,339

people in 2010

6.6

per 100,000 Americans

+0.5%

change since 2000 (was #1,708)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#1,846	Dobson	19,419	15,899
#1,847	Ledbetter	19,417	15,901
#1,848	Arteaga	19,410	15,907
#1,849	Jiang	19,409	15,907
#1,851	Whitman	19,399	15,916
#1,852	Burkett	19,369	15,940
#1,853	Koehler	19,368	15,941

Who is named Sheldon

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

91% of people named Sheldon identified as white (not Hispanic), 2.6% as Hispanic or Latino (any race) and 2.4% as two or more races.

White (not Hispanic) 91%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.6%
Two or more races 2.4%
Black (not Hispanic) 1.8%
American Indian and Alaska Native 1.6%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.9%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Sheldons

14 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Sidney Sheldon
American writer (1917–2007)
Alice Bradley Sheldon
American science fiction writer (1915–1987)
Richard Sheldon
American shot put and discus Olympian (1878-1935)
George Sheldon
American diver (1874–1907)
Lewis Sheldon
American triple jumper (1874–1960)
Gene Sheldon
American actor (1908-1982)
Jack Sheldon
American trumpeter, singer, and actor (1931–2019)
Gilbert Sheldon
Archbishop of Canterbury; Bishop of London (1598-1677)
William Herbert Sheldon
American psychologist (1898-1977)
George Sheldon
American tennis player, 1876–2000
Barbara Sheldon
Actress (1912-2007)
Edward Sheldon
American dramatist, 1886–1946

Notable Sheldons come mostly from the United States (13) and the United Kingdom (1).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Sheldon

Sheldon has the Soundex code S435, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code S435.

Other English surnames

All 1,446 English surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Sheldon come from?: From Old English scylf (“shelf”) + dūn (“hill”) or denu (“valley”).
How common is the surname Sheldon?: 19,339 people in the United States had the surname Sheldon in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 15,965 Americans. It ranked 1,855th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Sheldon?: In the 2010 Census, 91% of people named Sheldon identified as white (not Hispanic), and 2.6% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).
Who is the most famous person named Sheldon?: Sidney Sheldon, American writer (1917–2007), followed by Alice Bradley Sheldon.
Where is the surname Sheldon most common?: Wikidata records people named Sheldon in the United States and the United Kingdom.
How do you pronounce Sheldon?: Sheldon is /ˈʃɛldən/, 2 syllables.
What type of surname is Sheldon?: Sheldon is a place surname, taken from where an ancestor lived or came from.
Is the surname Sheldon getting more or less common?: More common. 19,246 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 19,339 in 2010, up 0.5%.
Is Sheldon also a first name?: Yes. Sheldon 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.