Explore the Family Name Shan
The meaning of Shan
1. Chinese: Mandarin form of the surname 單: (i) from the placename Shan (單), the name of a fief (located in Mengjin in present-day Henan province) granted to Zhen, the youngest son of King Cheng of Zhou (reigned 1042–1021 BC). (ii) borne by the A Shan (阿單), Ke Shan (可單) and He Shan (紇單) families from the Xianbei ethnic group in northern China. They shortened their original surnames to 單 during the Northern Wei dynasty (386–534 AD). 2. Chinese: Mandarin form of the surname 山, meaning ‘mountain’ in Chinese: (i) from Shan Shi (山師) (literally meaning ‘mountain officer’), the title of an official post in charge of mountains and forests during the Western Zhou dynasty (1046–771 BC). People adopted part of the title, 山, as their surname. (ii) from Shu Shan Ran (叔山冉), an official in the state of Chu during the Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BC). Some of his descendants inherited 山, part of his name, as their surname. (iii) borne by the Tu Nan (吐難) family from the Xianbei ethnic group in northern China, who changed their original surname to 山 during the Northern Wei dynasty (386–534 AD). 3. Indian (Gujarat): Vania name of unexplained etymology. 4. English: unexplained. Some characteristic forenames: Indian Ajit, Amrat, Bhanu, Bharat, Bhupendra, Harshad, Jagdish, Kamlesh, Kesavan, Kiran, Mayur, Nikhil. Chinese Jing, Wen, Chanho, Chao, Chen, Daming, Guo Hui, Hua, Jia, Li, Li Xin, Ling.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Shan in the United States?
Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the surname Shan has seen a slight drop in popularity from 2000 to 2010. In 2000, it was ranked 13,994 and by 2010, it had slipped to 14,268, marking a decrease of 1.96%. However, the number of individuals with this surname increased during this time period, from 1,978 in 2000 to 2,099 in 2010 — an increase of 6.12%. Proportionally, the number of people named Shan per 100,000 decreased slightly by 2.74%.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #13,994 | #14,268 | -1.96% |
| Count | 1,978 | 2,099 | 6.12% |
| Proportion per 100k | 0.73 | 0.71 | -2.74% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Shan
In regards to ethnic identity, the Decennial U.S. Census data shows that the majority of individuals with the Shan surname identify as Asian/Pacific Islander, with a significant increase from 46.81% in 2000 to 64.79% in 2010. The proportion of those identifying as White, Black, Hispanic, and those belonging to two or more races all decreased over this period. Notably, the number of individuals identifying as two or more races decreased significantly by 52.75% from 2000 to 2010. There was a marginal increase in the percentage of Shans identifying as American Indian and Alaskan Native, rising from 0.30% to 0.33%.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 46.81% | 64.79% | 38.41% |
| White | 34.63% | 22.77% | -34.25% |
| Black | 12.03% | 8.77% | -27.1% |
| Two or More Races | 3.64% | 1.72% | -52.75% |
| Hispanic | 2.58% | 1.62% | -37.21% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0.3% | 0.33% | 10% |