NameCensus.

UK surname

Shea

A surname of Irish origin meaning "the stately, dauntless one," derived from the Gaelic name Séaghdha.

In the 1881 census there were 2,002 people recorded with the Shea surname, ranking it #2,200 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 1,826, ranked #3,471, down from #2,200 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Ystradyfodwg (incl. Rhigos), London parishes and St Pancras. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Thurrock, Wolverhampton and St. Helens.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Shea is 2,002 in 1881. Compared with 1881, the name has fallen by 8.8%.

1881 census count

2,002

Ranked #2,200

Modern count

1,826

2016, ranked #3,471

Peak year

1881

2,002 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Shea had 2,002 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #2,200 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 1,826 in 2016, ranked #3,471.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 2,002 in 1881.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Challenged Communities.

Shea surname distribution map

The map shows where the Shea surname is concentrated in each census or modern distribution year. Darker areas mean a stronger local concentration.

Distribution map

Shea surname density by area, 1881 census.

Loading map
Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

Back to top

Shea over time

The table below tracks recorded surname counts and rank from the 19th-century census years through the modern adult-register period.

Year Period Count Rank
1851 historical 1,048 #2,672
1861 historical 1,137 #2,473
1881 historical 2,002 #2,200
1891 historical 1,865 #2,472
1901 historical 1,804 #2,900
1911 historical 1,772 #2,768
1997 modern 1,787 #3,357
1998 modern 1,855 #3,372
1999 modern 1,844 #3,403
2000 modern 1,817 #3,433
2001 modern 1,756 #3,466
2002 modern 1,795 #3,462
2003 modern 1,845 #3,323
2004 modern 1,829 #3,348
2005 modern 1,783 #3,396
2006 modern 1,769 #3,425
2007 modern 1,792 #3,418
2008 modern 1,799 #3,437
2009 modern 1,885 #3,367
2010 modern 1,952 #3,338
2011 modern 1,873 #3,415
2012 modern 1,814 #3,454
2013 modern 1,851 #3,448
2014 modern 1,861 #3,457
2015 modern 1,829 #3,483
2016 modern 1,826 #3,471

Geography

Back to top

Where Sheas are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Ystradyfodwg (incl. Rhigos), London parishes, St Pancras and Merthyr Tydfil. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Thurrock, Wolverhampton, St. Helens, Hounslow and Calderdale. Treat these as concentration signals, not proof that every family line began there.

Some modern areas include a three-digit suffix, such as Leeds 110. The suffix is a small-area code, so it stays in the table while the prose uses the plain place name.

Top historical parishes

Rank Parish Area
1 Ystradyfodwg (incl. Rhigos) Glamorganshire
2 London parishes London 1
3 London parishes London 3
4 St Pancras London (North Districts)
5 Merthyr Tydfil Glamorganshire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Thurrock 008 Thurrock
2 Wolverhampton 029 Wolverhampton
3 St. Helens 012 St. Helens
4 Hounslow 025 Hounslow
5 Calderdale 027 Calderdale

Forenames

Back to top

First names often paired with Shea

These lists show first names that appear often with the Shea surname in historical and recent records.

Modern profile

Back to top

Neighbourhood profile for Shea

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Shea, this points to the kinds of places where the surname is most concentrated today.

These neighbourhood labels describe areas, not individual people. They are useful because surnames often cluster through family history, migration, housing patterns and local work. A surname can be strongest in one type of neighbourhood even when people with that name live across the country.

The UK classification gives the national picture. The London classification is more specific to the capital, where housing, age profile, tenure and population mix can look quite different from the rest of the UK.

UK neighbourhood type

UK Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Baseline UK

Group

Challenged Communities

Nationally, the Shea surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Challenged Communities, within Baseline UK. This does not mean every Shea household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Residents of these neighbourhoods typically live in households with dependent children, and there are fewer-than-average residents of normal retirement age or over. Identification with ethnic minorities, particularly Black, or Mixed or Multiple ethnicities is common. The rate of Christian religious affiliation is low. Housing predominantly consists of semi-detached houses, along with a significant number of terraced properties and flats. Overcrowded social housing is common, and private renting occurs at average UK levels. Those in employment work mainly in caring leisure and other services; process, plant and machine operation; or elementary occupations. Unemployment is high, and few individuals have degree level qualifications. Many of these neighbourhoods occur in commuter towns or less accessible areas of larger towns and cities.

Wider pattern

This Supergroup exemplifies the broad base to the UK’s social structure, encompassing as it does the average or modal levels of many neighbourhood characteristics, including all housing tenures, a range of levels of educational attainment and religious affiliations, and a variety of pre-retirement age structures. Yet, in combination, these mixes are each distinctive of the parts of the UK. Overall, terraced houses and flats are the most prevalent, as is employment in intermediate or low-skilled occupations. However, this Supergroup is also characterised by above average levels of unemployment and lower levels of use of English as the main language. Many neighbourhoods occur in south London and the UK’s other major urban centres.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

The Greater London Mix

Group

Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers

Within London, Shea is most associated with areas classed as Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers, part of The Greater London Mix. This gives the surname a London-specific profile rather than forcing the capital into the same pattern as the rest of the country.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Mainly located in Inner London, these neighbourhoods retain a diverse employment structure, with some concentration in associated professional and technical occupations rather than skilled trades or construction. Social renting is more common and levels of homeownership are low. Many residents identify as Black. There is a lower than average rate of marriage or civil partnership, few that are very old (85 or over) and higher than average incidence of disability.

Wider London pattern

A Supergroup embodying London's diversity in many respects, apart from low numbers of residents identifying as of Bangladeshi, Indian, Pakistani or Other (non-Chinese) Asian ethnicity. There is lower than average prevalence of families with dependent children, while there are above average occurrences of never-married individuals and single-person households. The age distribution is skewed towards younger, single residents and couples without children, with many individuals identifying as of mixed or multiple ethnicity. Social rented or private rented housing is slightly more prevalent than average, and many residents live in flats. Individuals typically work in professional and associated roles in public administration, education or health rather than in elementary occupations in agriculture, energy, water, construction or manufacturing. Incidence of students is slightly below average. Individuals declaring no religion are more prevalent than average and non-use of English at home is below average.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Shea is most concentrated in decile 10 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname towards the healthier end of the index.

Lower deciles point towards weaker access to healthy assets or stronger exposure to local hazards. Higher deciles point towards stronger access and fewer hazards.

10
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Shea falls in decile 4 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname near the middle of the scale.

Decile 1 represents the more deprived end of the scale. Decile 10 represents the less deprived end.

4
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Shea is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 60-70 mbit/s.

The scale below places that band in context, from slower local download bands through to faster ones.

9
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - Irish

This describes the area pattern most associated with Shea, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

Meaning and origin of Shea

The surname SHEA originated from Ireland, deriving its roots from the Gaelic words "O Siodhachain" which means "descendent of Siodhacha". Siodhacha was the name of an Irish clan located in County Longford. The name first appears in historical records dating back to the 12th century.

The earliest recorded spelling of the name appears in the Annals of the Four Masters in 1171, referring to "Fiacha O'Shee", a member of the clan. Over time, variations in spelling emerged, including O'Shea, O'Shee, and Shea. The surname eventually lost the prefix "O" and became simply Shea.

In the 16th century, the Shea clan played a prominent role in the Desmond Rebellions against the English crown. One notable figure was Sir Richard Shea, who fought alongside the Earl of Desmond in the 1580s. Despite their defeat, the Shea family remained influential in County Longford and surrounding areas.

The name Shea also has connections to various place names in Ireland, such as Sheamore in County Longford and Sheaghmore in County Galway. These place names likely derived from the surname itself or from individuals bearing the name.

Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the surname Shea. One example is Sir John Shea (1645-1718), an Irish military officer who served in the Jacobite Army during the Williamite War in Ireland. Another is Sir Robert Shea (1773-1853), an Irish-born American politician who served as the 16th Governor of Pennsylvania from 1848 to 1852.

Other notable individuals include John Augustus Shea (1824-1892), an American historian and writer who specialized in the history of the Catholic Church in America, and Sir Haisten Reid Shea (1904-1987), a British businessman and industrialist who was knighted for his contributions to the coal industry.

More recently, John Shea (born 1949) is an American actor known for his roles in films such as "Gossip" and "The Karate Kid". Sir Michael Shea (1938-2009) was a British judge who served as the Lord Justice of Appeal from 1998 to 2007.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

Back to top

Shea families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Shea surname. Use the location tables for concentration, then the name and occupation tables for the people behind the surname.

Top counties

Total is the county count. Frequency and index adjust for local population size, so they are better concentration signals. Middlesex leads with 561 Sheas recorded in 1881 and an index of 2.86x.

County Total Index
Middlesex 561 2.86x
Lancashire 308 1.32x
Glamorgan 239 7.00x
Surrey 175 1.83x
Kent 106 1.58x
Monmouthshire 106 7.47x
Gloucestershire 59 1.53x
Yorkshire 53 0.27x
Hampshire 46 1.14x
Essex 37 0.96x
Durham 33 0.57x
Cheshire 30 0.69x
Lanarkshire 27 0.43x
Devon 22 0.54x
Staffordshire 21 0.32x
Warwickshire 19 0.38x
Northumberland 18 0.62x
Angus 15 0.83x
Berkshire 14 0.95x
Royal Navy 14 5.99x
Cumberland 11 0.65x
Carmarthenshire 10 1.21x
Midlothian 10 0.38x
Morayshire 10 3.28x
Cornwall 9 0.41x
Denbighshire 8 1.08x
Stirlingshire 7 0.97x
Leicestershire 6 0.28x
Sussex 6 0.18x
Flintshire 5 0.95x
Anglesey 3 0.86x
Northamptonshire 3 0.16x
Renfrewshire 3 0.20x
Inverness-shire 2 0.34x
Norfolk 2 0.07x
Shropshire 2 0.12x
Somerset 2 0.06x
West Lothian 2 0.68x
Aberdeenshire 1 0.06x
Ayrshire 1 0.07x
Brecknockshire 1 0.25x
Derbyshire 1 0.03x
Herefordshire 1 0.12x
Pembrokeshire 1 0.16x
Suffolk 1 0.04x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Merthyr Tydfil in Glamorgan leads with 105 Sheas recorded in 1881 and an index of 31.98x.

Place Total Index
Merthyr Tydfil 105 31.98x
Liverpool 94 6.65x
St George In East 41 30.73x
Camberwell 38 3.03x
Poplar London 38 10.26x
Islington London 36 1.89x
Bethnal Green London 35 4.11x
St Pancras London 33 2.09x
St Woollos 32 20.22x
Deptford St Paul 30 5.81x
Bedwellty 29 11.58x
Kensington London 29 2.66x
St Marylebone London 29 2.77x
Hackney London 27 2.45x
Cardiff St Mary 25 13.29x
Manchester 24 2.29x
Newport 24 35.48x
Ratcliffe London 23 21.23x
Newington 22 3.04x
Southwark St George Martyr 22 5.57x
West Ham 22 2.57x
Bromley London 20 4.63x
Lambeth 20 1.17x
Bristol St Philip Jacob 19 5.25x
Mile End Old Town 19 6.14x
Swansea Town 19 6.78x
Battersea 18 2.49x
Birmingham 17 1.03x
Woolwich 17 6.87x
Bristol St James In 16 28.28x
Westminster St James 16 7.93x
Whitechapel London 16 8.27x
Burnley 15 7.65x
Cardiff St John 15 13.44x
Rotherhithe 15 6.19x
West Derby 15 2.20x
Govan 14 0.89x
Greenwich 14 4.48x
Leeds 14 1.28x
Roath 14 9.02x
Shadwell London 14 25.50x
Royal Navy 13 6.51x
St Vigeans 13 13.25x
Bermondsey 12 2.05x
Bishopwearmouth 12 2.40x
Chorlton On Medlock 12 3.25x
Everton 12 1.62x
Limehouse London 12 5.57x
Caerleon 11 148.65x
Cowpe Lench Newhall Hey 11 44.23x
Gorton 11 5.03x
St Giles In Fields 11 16.26x
Barony 10 0.62x
Barrow In Furness 10 3.16x
Clerkenwell London 10 2.16x
Duffus 10 37.23x
Gillingham 10 7.25x
Llanelly 10 5.37x
Portsea 10 1.27x
St Andrew Holborn 10 15.04x
Stoke Upon Trent 10 1.42x
Westminster St John 10 4.19x
Macclesfield 9 4.68x
Neath 9 12.95x
Spitalfields London 9 6.10x
St Botolph Aldgate 9 33.61x
St Mary Within 9 42.65x
Briton Ferry 8 19.63x
Cwmdu 8 19.23x
Edinburgh St Cuthberts 8 0.76x
Elton 8 9.95x
Longbenton 8 6.47x
Penarth 8 23.97x
Plymouth St Andrew 8 2.54x
St Gilesin Fields 8 69.99x
Toxteth Park 8 1.01x
Holy Trinity 7 1.50x
Layton With Warbreck 7 8.19x
Reading St Giles 7 4.85x
Stoke Damerel 7 2.45x

Top female names

These are the female first names most often recorded with the Shea surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
Mary 221
Ellen 87
Margaret 75
Catherine 60
Bridget 36
Elizabeth 31
Julia 23
Jane 19
Johanna 19
Ann 18
Hannah 18
Annie 17
Kate 16
Alice 14
Eliza 14
Sarah 14
Anne 11
Louisa 8
Agnes 7
Catharine 7
Emma 7
Norah 7
Emily 6
Florence 6
Margt. 6
Maria 6
Caroline 5
Eleanor 5
Fanny 5
Francis 5
Harriet 5
Helen 5
Lizzie 5
Martha 5
Sophia 5
Elizth. 4
Isabella 4
Katherine 4
Rebecca 4
Bessie 3
Cathrine 3
Honora 3
Johana 3
Minnie 3
Amy 2
Frances 2
Helena 2
Katrine 2
Margeret 2
Marion 2

Top male names

These are the male first names most often recorded with the Shea surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
John 202
James 81
Patrick 67
William 66
Daniel 55
Michael 46
Thomas 46
Dennis 29
Edward 29
Jeremiah 29
Timothy 28
Richard 17
Cornelius 15
George 14
Joseph 13
Peter 12
Charles 10
David 9
Denis 9
Henry 9
Arthur 8
Francis 7
Robert 6
Jno. 5
Walter 5
J. 4
Matthew 4
Stephen 4
Albert 3
Alfred 3
Con 3
Dan 3
Frank 3
Frederick 3
Harry 3
Humphrey 3
Luke 3
Philip 3
Thos. 3
Bartholomew 2
Caroline 2
D. 2
Fredrick 2
Geo. 2
Jerimiah 2
Mathew 2
Meichael 2
Samuel 2
Tim 2
Wm. 2

FAQ

Shea surname: questions and answers

How common was the Shea surname in 1881?

In 1881, 2,002 people were recorded with the Shea surname. That placed it at #2,200 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Shea surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 1,826 in 2016. That gives Shea a modern rank of #3,471.

What does the Shea surname mean?

A surname of Irish origin meaning "the stately, dauntless one," derived from the Gaelic name Séaghdha.

What does the Shea map show?

The map shows local surname concentration for the selected year. Darker areas have a stronger concentration of Shea bearers relative to the surrounding population.

What records is this surname page based on?

The historical counts come from census surname records. The modern counts and neighbourhood summaries come from later surname distribution records. Counts are recorded bearers in those records, not a live estimate of everyone with the name today.