Shem Surname
Approximately 6,454 people bear this surname
Shem Surname Distribution Map
| Place | Incidence | Frequency | Rank in Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenya | 2,165 | 1:21,330 | 2,449 |
| Iran | 983 | 1:78,110 | 8,015 |
| Nigeria | 946 | 1:187,255 | 11,366 |
| Vanuatu | 708 | 1:372 | 59 |
| Tanzania | 423 | 1:125,157 | 11,807 |
| Papua New Guinea | 356 | 1:22,904 | 2,503 |
| United States | 245 | 1:1,479,424 | 101,022 |
| Canada | 87 | 1:423,513 | 37,101 |
| Russia | 85 | 1:1,695,565 | 111,577 |
| DR Congo | 68 | 1:1,086,464 | 68,260 |
| Marshall Islands | 64 | 1:810 | 191 |
| India | 47 | 1:16,320,540 | 259,912 |
| Solomon Islands | 41 | 1:14,147 | 2,649 |
| Australia | 31 | 1:870,829 | 53,581 |
| Malaysia | 23 | 1:1,282,358 | 54,976 |
| Indonesia | 21 | 1:6,297,581 | 275,398 |
| Singapore | 17 | 1:323,983 | 13,856 |
| Trinidad and Tobago | 14 | 1:97,427 | 6,588 |
| Liberia | 14 | 1:314,895 | 17,893 |
| Israel | 13 | 1:658,280 | 45,106 |
| South Africa | 9 | 1:6,019,745 | 157,966 |
| Pakistan | 8 | 1:22,330,486 | 77,733 |
| Estonia | 8 | 1:165,226 | 26,217 |
| Brazil | 7 | 1:30,582,047 | 441,004 |
| Uganda | 6 | 1:6,506,546 | 123,710 |
| France | 4 | 1:16,605,680 | 368,153 |
| Ghana | 4 | 1:6,755,173 | 15,406 |
| Fiji | 4 | 1:223,598 | 2,635 |
| Egypt | 4 | 1:22,983,938 | 62,368 |
| Belarus | 4 | 1:2,375,265 | 105,497 |
| China | 3 | 1:455,773,855 | 21,925 |
| Cambodia | 3 | 1:5,162,382 | 10,688 |
| Kazakhstan | 2 | 1:8,841,248 | 174,813 |
| Taiwan | 2 | 1:11,722,373 | 63,559 |
| Ukraine | 2 | 1:22,761,348 | 425,733 |
| United Arab Emirates | 2 | 1:4,581,136 | 93,443 |
| England | 2 | 1:27,859,030 | 389,889 |
| Transnistria | 1 | 1:474,699 | 17,893 |
| Thailand | 1 | 1:70,638,345 | 1,175,915 |
| Zimbabwe | 1 | 1:15,438,240 | 133,260 |
| Turkey | 1 | 1:77,821,422 | 191,047 |
| Sri Lanka | 1 | 1:20,808,560 | 18,521 |
| Zambia | 1 | 1:15,849,922 | 53,989 |
| Uzbekistan | 1 | 1:30,929,142 | 67,786 |
| Malawi | 1 | 1:17,119,109 | 34,144 |
| Italy | 1 | 1:61,156,688 | 199,583 |
| Algeria | 1 | 1:38,631,551 | 130,422 |
| Argentina | 1 | 1:42,743,414 | 282,706 |
| Botswana | 1 | 1:2,186,929 | 30,250 |
| Cameroon | 1 | 1:20,769,068 | 227,406 |
| Congo | 1 | 1:4,989,096 | 34,171 |
| Czechia | 1 | 1:10,633,469 | 206,023 |
| Germany | 1 | 1:80,505,459 | 560,955 |
| Hong Kong | 1 | 1:7,335,483 | 16,643 |
| Iceland | 1 | 1:380,090 | 11,096 |
| Iraq | 1 | 1:35,021,654 | 31,813 |
| Serbia | 1 | 1:7,144,948 | 38,459 |
| Japan | 1 | 1:127,844,293 | 73,547 |
| Lithuania | 1 | 1:3,034,588 | 47,401 |
| Ireland | 1 | 1:4,708,939 | 29,543 |
| Malta | 1 | 1:430,272 | 3,380 |
| Moldova | 1 | 1:3,561,368 | 78,271 |
| Netherlands | 1 | 1:16,887,176 | 156,465 |
| New Zealand | 1 | 1:4,528,323 | 55,372 |
| Peru | 1 | 1:31,784,123 | 64,452 |
| Philippines | 1 | 1:101,238,223 | 404,861 |
| Place | Incidence | Frequency | Rank in Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| England | 10 | 1:2,437,537 | 68,340 |
| Place | Incidence | Frequency | Rank in Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 51 | 1:984,680 | 58,342 |
The alternate forms: Shém (1) are calculated separately.
Shem (26,353) may also be a first name.
Shem Demographics
Shem Religious Adherence
in Kenya
Religious Adherence
in Kenya
Shem Last Name Facts
Where Does The Last Name Shem Come From? nationality or country of origin
The surname Shem (Bengali: শেম, Hindi: शेम, Marathi: शेम, Oriya: େସମ, Russian: Шем, Tibetan: ཤེམ་) is found in Kenya more than any other country or territory. It can also occur as: Shém. For other potential spellings of Shem click here.
How Common Is The Last Name Shem? popularity and diffusion
It is the 76,008th most commonly occurring family name on a worldwide basis. It is borne by approximately 1 in 1,129,152 people. The surname Shem occurs predominantly in Africa, where 56 percent of Shem live; 40 percent live in East Africa and 23 percent live in East Bantu Africa. It is also the 30,758th most widespread given name world-wide, held by 26,353 people.
The surname Shem is most common in Kenya, where it is borne by 2,165 people, or 1 in 21,330. In Kenya Shem is primarily found in: Kisii County, where 30 percent live, Nairobi County, where 16 percent live and Nyamira County, where 10 percent live. Outside of Kenya it occurs in 65 countries. It is also common in Iran, where 15 percent live and Nigeria, where 15 percent live.
Shem Family Population Trend historical fluctuation
The prevalency of Shem has changed through the years. In The United States the number of people carrying the Shem last name rose 480 percent between 1880 and 2014 and in England it contracted 80 percent between 1881 and 2014.
Shem Last Name Statistics demography
The religious adherence of those carrying the last name is predominantly Christian (100%) in Kenya.
In The United States Shem are 20.77% more likely to be registered with the Democratic Party than The US average, with 74% registered with the political party.
The amount Shem earn in different countries varies marginally. In United States they earn 13.49% more than the national average, earning $48,968 USD per year and in Canada they earn 13.38% more than the national average, earning $56,329 CAD per year.
Phonetically Similar Names
Shem Name Transliterations
| Transliteration | ICU Latin | Percentage of Incidence |
|---|---|---|
| Shem in the Bengali language | ||
| শেম | sema | - |
| Shem in the Hindi language | ||
| शेम | sema | 91.67 |
| शाेम | saema | 4.17 |
| शेम्पू | sempu | 4.17 |
| Shem in the Marathi language | ||
| शेम | sema | 68.75 |
| शॅम | sema | 31.25 |
| Shem in the Tibetan language | ||
| ཤེམ་ | shem | 68 |
| ཤེརམ་ | sheram | 24 |
| ཤེའེམ་ | shé'em | 8 |
| Shem in the Oriya language | ||
| େସମ | esama | 44.44 |
| େଶମ | esama | 33.33 |
| େସମ୍ | esam | 22.22 |
| Shem in the Russian language | ||
| Шем | sem | - |
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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
- 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 Shem
- To find out more about this surname's family history, lookup records on FamilySearch, MyHeritage, FindMyPast and Ancestry. Further information may be obtained by DNA analysis