Explore the Family Name Shark

The meaning of Shark

1. English (Lancashire): nickname apparently from Middle English shark ‘shark’. 2. Americanized form of German Schark: perhaps a habitational name from any of the places called Scharke or Scharken in eastern Germany.

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

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

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the popularity of the surname 'Shark' decreased between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, it ranked 47,485 out of all surnames in the United States, but by 2010 it had dropped to a rank of 56,444, indicating a decrease in popularity of nearly 19%. The actual count of people with this surname also declined from 420 in 2000 to 362 in 2010, a drop of almost 14%. Consequently, the proportion of individuals with the 'Shark' surname per 100,000 people also fell by 25% over the same decade.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#47,485	#56,444	-18.87%
Count	420	362	-13.81%
Proportion per 100k	0.16	0.12	-25%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Shark

The ethnic identity associated with the surname 'Shark' showed some changes between 2000 and 2010 according to the Decennial U.S. Census. In 2000, no individuals identified as Asian/Pacific Islander or of two or more races, but by 2010, those numbers were 1.66% and 2.49%, respectively. The percentage of Sharks identifying as white saw an increase from 68.10% to 71.82%. Hispanic representation also saw a growth of roughly 32% over the decade. However, those identifying as Black within the 'Shark' surname group decreased from 26.43% to 19.34%. There was no change in the percentage identifying as American Indian and Alaskan Native.

	2000	2010	Change
White	68.1%	71.82%	5.46%
Black	26.43%	19.34%	-26.83%
Hispanic	3.57%	4.7%	31.65%
Two or More Races	0%	2.49%	0%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	1.66%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%