Explore the Family Name Shackleton

The meaning of Shackleton

English: habitational name from Shackleton in Wadsworth (Yorkshire), possibly from Old English sceacol ‘shackle’ + tūn ‘farmstead, estate’ (hence ‘farmstead where animals are shackled’) or Old English sceacel ‘stubble’ (related to the verb sceacan ‘to shake’; compare dialect shackle ‘stubble’) + tūn. History: The British Antarctic explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton (1874–1922) was born in Kilkee, Ireland; his father’s Quaker family came from Yorkshire, England.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Shackleton in the United States?

According to the data from the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname "Shackleton" has seen a considerable increase between 2000 and 2010. In year 2000, Shackleton ranked 27,694th in terms of frequency but by 2010, it had climbed to 25,295th, an improvement of about 8.66%. The count of people with this surname also increased from 818 in 2000 to 979 in 2010 which is a rise of almost 19.68%. The proportion of people named Shackleton per 100k also rose by 10% over the decade.

20002010Change
Rank#27,694#25,2958.66%
Count81897919.68%
Proportion per 100k0.30.3310%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Shackleton

As for its ethnic identity, the Decennial U.S. Census data shows some shifts over the 2000-2010 period. The percentage of individuals identifying as White and carrying the Shackleton surname decreased slightly from 94.74% in 2000 to 89.68% in 2010. Meanwhile, those identifying as Black saw a notable increase from 2.08% to 5.31%. The percentage of individuals identifying as Hispanic showed a decrease of 16.42%. Interestingly, there were no recorded Asian/Pacific Islander or American Indian and Alaskan Native individuals with the surname Shackleton in 2000, but by 2010 these groups accounted for 0.51% and 1.63% respectively. Lastly, the percentage of individuals holding the Shackleton surname and identifying with two or more races increased by 42.62%.

20002010Change
White94.74%89.68%-5.34%
Black2.08%5.31%155.29%
Two or More Races1.22%1.74%42.62%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0%1.63%0%
Hispanic1.34%1.12%-16.42%
Asian/Pacific Islander0%0.51%0%