Explore the Family Name Shipper

The meaning of Shipper

1. German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): variant of Schipper. 2. English (North Yorkshire): occupational name from Middle English shippere ‘shipman, sailor, seaman’ (Old English scipere), perhaps also with the sense ‘skipper’ (Middle Low German schipper).

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

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

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the surname Shipper has seen a decrease in popularity over the past decade. In 2000, Shipper ranked 48,877 in terms of overall popularity, with 405 individuals carrying this surname. By 2010, however, the ranking dropped to 68,547 and the count fell to 287 people, signaling a 40.24% decrease in rank and 29.14% decrease in the number of individuals with this surname. The proportion per 100k individuals also shrunk from 0.15 to 0.1, representing a 33.33% drop.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#48,877	#68,547	-40.24%
Count	405	287	-29.14%
Proportion per 100k	0.15	0.1	-33.33%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Shipper

The same Decennial U.S. Census data reveals some shifting trends in the ethnic identity associated with the surname Shipper. In 2000, 96.79% of Shippers identified as White, but by 2010, this percentage had decreased slightly to 94.43%. Meanwhile, the proportion of Asian/Pacific Islanders with this surname rose from 1.23% to 2.09% during the same period. Interestingly, the 2010 data shows 2.09% of Shippers identifying as Hispanic, a category that was not represented in the 2000 data. Neither Black nor American Indian and Alaskan Native ethnic identities were reported among individuals with the surname Shipper in both years.

	2000	2010	Change
White	96.79%	94.43%	-2.44%
Asian/Pacific Islander	1.23%	2.09%	69.92%
Hispanic	0%	2.09%	0%
Two or More Races	0%	0%	0%
Black	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%