How common is the surname Shorter?

8,675 people in the United States had the surname Shorter in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 35,590 Americans. It ranked 4,092nd of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Shorter?

Wayne Shorter, American jazz saxophonist and composer (1933–2023), followed by Frank Shorter.

Where is the surname Shorter most common?

Wikidata records people named Shorter in the United States.

Is the surname Shorter getting more or less common?

More common. 8,122 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 8,675 in 2010, up 6.8%.

The surname Shorter

A surname, carried by 8,675 people in the United States.

2 syllables Soundex S636

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Shorter is more common than 97.5% of them.

Origin

A surname.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 8,675 people named Shorter in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 35,590 Americans. That is up 6.8% since 2000, when the Census counted 8,122.

#4,092

rank among US surnames

8,675

people in 2010

2.9

per 100,000 Americans

+6.8%

change since 2000 (was #4,014)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#4,084	Testa	8,694	35,512
#4,085	Tennant	8,693	35,517
#4,086	Santoyo	8,692	35,521
#4,087	Peterman	8,690	35,529
#4,088	Clapp	8,689	35,533
#4,089	Pannell	8,687	35,541
#4,090	Keel	8,682	35,562

Who is named Shorter

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

58% of people named Shorter identified as Black (not Hispanic), 36% as white (not Hispanic) and 3.0% as two or more races.

Black (not Hispanic) 58%
White (not Hispanic) 36%
Two or more races 3.0%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 1.9%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.5%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.4%

Compare: most common surnames among Black Americans.

Famous Shorters

3 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Wayne Shorter
American jazz saxophonist and composer (1933–2023)
Frank Shorter
American long-distance runner, born 1947
John Gill Shorter
American politician (1818-1872)

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Shorter

Shorter has the Soundex code S636, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code S636.

Questions

How common is the surname Shorter?: 8,675 people in the United States had the surname Shorter in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 35,590 Americans. It ranked 4,092nd of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Shorter?: In the 2010 Census, 58% of people named Shorter identified as Black (not Hispanic), and 36% as white (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Shorter?: Wayne Shorter, American jazz saxophonist and composer (1933–2023), followed by Frank Shorter.
Where is the surname Shorter most common?: Wikidata records people named Shorter in the United States.
Is the surname Shorter getting more or less common?: More common. 8,122 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 8,675 in 2010, up 6.8%.