Shanks Surname

20,966th
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 26,030 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
United States
Highest density in:
Scotland

Shanks Surname Definition:

(English)a nickname from some peculiarity of the Leg(s [Middle English schanke, Old English scanca, a leg]

Shanks Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States16,0931:22,5232,826
England2,5571:21,7903,058
Scotland1,9611:2,730503
Canada1,7431:21,1392,909
Australia1,6031:16,8412,369
New Zealand9751:4,644741
Northern Ireland5701:3,237648
Ireland851:55,3993,846
South Africa671:808,62254,680
Guyana391:19,5442,478
Wales341:91,0167,411
Israel331:259,32223,464
Thailand311:2,278,656255,572
Chile231:765,93416,989
France221:3,019,215204,848
India221:34,866,608408,224
Netherlands201:844,35960,801
Germany141:5,750,390205,224
Norway141:367,30634,015
Sweden81:1,230,84590,587
Jersey71:14,1722,872
Brazil71:30,582,047441,004
Philippines71:14,462,603238,248
Bermuda71:9,3261,286
United Arab Emirates71:1,308,89651,006
Denmark61:940,78647,603
Qatar61:393,00055,922
Spain51:9,350,407109,555
China41:341,830,39216,990
Russia41:36,030,764577,589
Portugal41:2,604,56016,079
Iraq41:8,755,41423,373
Malawi41:4,279,77724,060
United States Virgin Islands31:36,7924,502
Italy31:20,385,563143,117
Nigeria31:59,047,586507,603
Yemen31:8,808,43135,773
Zambia21:7,924,96145,994
Japan21:63,922,14662,827
Vietnam21:46,323,0275,235
Georgia21:1,872,77235,618
Malaysia21:14,747,112316,340
Belarus11:9,501,059159,228
Egypt11:91,935,754132,737
Austria11:8,515,435118,036
Cook Islands11:18,1791,485
Algeria11:38,631,551130,422
Belgium11:11,496,644167,539
Czechia11:10,633,469206,023
Turkey11:77,821,422191,047
Jamaica11:2,869,94713,896
Syria11:19,301,02222,457
Switzerland11:8,212,915156,297
Marshall Islands11:51,8212,326
Suriname11:552,6169,664
Sri Lanka11:20,808,56018,521
Bulgaria11:6,978,90586,260
Finland11:5,496,70284,025
Kenya11:46,179,900103,372
Kosovo11:1,861,86914,990
Grenada11:108,5351,793
Indonesia11:132,249,194811,426
Monaco11:37,0664,748
Mexico11:124,126,205103,776
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Ireland6251:7,0881,102
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Scotland1,3911:2,691470
England8931:27,2963,717
Isle of Man11:54,2692,077
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States2,8711:17,4922,227

Shanks (99) may also be a first name.

Shanks Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

(English)a nickname from some peculiarity of the Leg(s [Middle English schanke, Old English scanca, a leg]

Surnames of the United Kingdom (1912) by Henry Harrison

(English, Scottish) A nickname given because of some peculiarity of the legs; one who came from the lands of Shank, in Midlothian.

Dictionary of American Family Names (1956) by Elsdon Coles Smith

From the Dutch, Schank; from the Flemish, Schangh; a personal name.

British Family Names: Their Origin and Meaning (1903) by Henry Barber

The name of Shanks has also a home across the border in Lanarkshire.

Homes of Family Names in Great Britain (1890) by Henry Brougham Guppy

Shanks Last Name Facts

Where Does The Last Name Shanks Come From? nationality or country of origin

The surname Shanks (Russian: Шанкс) occurs more in The United States more than any other country/territory. It can occur in the variant forms:. Click here to see other possible spellings of this name.

How Common Is The Last Name Shanks? popularity and diffusion

This last name is the 20,966th most numerous family name on a worldwide basis. It is borne by approximately 1 in 279,967 people. This last name occurs predominantly in The Americas, where 69 percent of Shanks live; 68 percent live in North America and 68 percent live in Anglo-North America. Shanks is also the 951,070th most numerous first name in the world, held by 99 people.

The surname Shanks is most widespread in The United States, where it is borne by 16,093 people, or 1 in 22,523. In The United States Shanks is most prevalent in: Texas, where 11 percent live, Missouri, where 9 percent live and California, where 7 percent live. Barring The United States it occurs in 63 countries. It also occurs in England, where 10 percent live and Scotland, where 8 percent live.

Shanks Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The frequency of Shanks has changed over time. In The United States the share of the population with the surname increased 561 percent between 1880 and 2014; in England it increased 286 percent between 1881 and 2014; in Scotland it increased 141 percent between 1881 and 2014 and in Ireland it contracted 86 percent between 1901 and 2014.

Shanks Last Name Statistics demography

The religious adherence of those bearing the Shanks surname is principally Presbyterian (52%) in Ireland.

In The United States Shanks are 14.15% more likely to be registered Republicans than The US average, with 60.92% registered with the party.

The amount Shanks earn in different countries varies greatly. In Norway they earn 34.35% less than the national average, earning 227,192 kr per year; in South Africa they earn 324.81% more than the national average, earning R 1,009,500 per year; in United States they earn 1.99% less than the national average, earning $42,291 USD per year and in Canada they earn 4.64% more than the national average, earning $51,988 CAD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

SurnameSimilarityWorldwide IncidencePrevalency
Schanks92187/
Shancks920/
Sanks91968/
Schancks860/
Shenks8328/
Shamks835/
Shangs834/
Shancs831/
Sancks830/
Shonks830/
Shaheenks801/
Shanksová801/
Chancks778/
Schonks776/
Shangse771/
Shencks770/
Schamks770/
Sangs73133/
Zanks7343/
Sancs735/
Sonks734/
Shenncks710/
Scheinks710/
Changs6756/
Sanchs6753/
Sancsz673/
Sanggs672/
Chonks672/
Shengs671/
Shongs671/
Sanqus671/
Sangkz671/
Saangs671/
Zannks671/
Sonkse671/
Sionks671/
Sangse671/
Soncks670/
Chancs670/
Sanngs670/

Shanks Name Transliterations

TransliterationICU LatinPercentage of Incidence
Shanks in the Russian language
Шанксsanks-

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Footnotes

  • Surnames are taken as the first part of an person's inherited family name, caste, clan name or in some cases patronymic
  • Descriptions may contain details on the name's etymology, origin, ethnicity and history. They are largely reproduced from 3rd party sources; diligence is advised on accepting their validity - more information
  • Name distribution statistics are generated from a global database of over 4 billion people - more information
  • Heatmap: Dark red means there is a higher occurrence of the name, transitioning to light yellow signifies a progressively lower occurrence. Clicking on selected countries will show mapping at a regional level
  • Rank: Name are ranked by incidence using the ordinal ranking method; the name that occurs the most is assigned a rank of 1; name that occur less frequently receive an incremented rank; if two or more name occur the same number of times they are assigned the same rank and successive rank is incremented by the total preceeding names
  • Ethnic group cannot necessarily be determined by geographic occurrence
  • Similar: Names listed in the "Similar" section are phonetically similar and may not have any relation to Shanks
  • To find out more about this surname's family history, lookup records on Family​Search, My​Heritage, FindMyPast and Ancestry. Further information may be obtained by DNA analysis