The Shank surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 13,343 people carried this name — #2,700 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 22,100 people counted. That is up 2% from 13,070 in 2000.

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In the first U.S. census, 1790

112 families named Shank, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 677 people lived in those households, 6 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 8 other spellings. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

Pennsylvania 54
New York 22
Maryland 19
Virginia 11
North Carolina 3
Maine 2
South Carolina 1

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 261 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Shank in American newspapers,
1895–1913.

Newspaper page from The Wibaux Pioneer carrying the name Shank
The Wibaux Pioneer 1913-12-05
Newspaper page from The Lafayette Advertiser carrying the name Shank
The Lafayette Advertiser 1895-10-05

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 138,371 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Shank in Australian newspapers,
1840s–1980s.

2,872 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Shank. The most, 430, date from the 1900s.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 977
Victoria 721
Queensland 448
South Australia 359
Western Australia 197
Tasmania 146
ACT (Canberra) 13
Northern Territory 5

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Shank.

Who carried it

People named Shank,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Samuel Lewis Shank
    Samuel Lewis Shank 1872–1927
  • John Innes Shank 1814–1834
  • Elizabeth Ellen Collett 1830–1913
  • David E. Shank 1889–1972
  • Henry Shank 1892–1962 · American football player
  • Spencer Shank 1896–1985 · professor

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Shank,
in the records of 3 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States885 records

885 records of the Shank name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 521
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 172
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 58
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 57
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 53
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 13
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 5
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 5
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 1
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Ralph Shank

    Born 1941; from Cincinnati, Ohio. U.S. Army, infantryman; died of wounds 1965 in South Vietnam. Buried at Spring Grove Cemetery & Arboretum, Cincinnati, Ohio.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record James E. Shank

    Born 1906 in Virginia. Enlisted 1942 at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; auto mechanic. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1993, buried at Culpeper National Cemetery, Virginia.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Elias Shank

    Arrived at New York in 1876 aboard the Baltic from Liverpool, aged 46; laborer. From Ireland.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 885 records for Shank in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia24 records

24 records of the Shank name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 16
  • Tasmanian Names Index 5
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 3
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record John Shank

    Arrived in Queensland in 1885 aboard the Bulimba, aged 29.

    Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Mary Shank

    Arrived in Tasmania in 1851 aboard the Beulah from Plymouth.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. The first page of an emigration file from Gündlingen, Baden, 1883
    Example: German emigration file, 1883
    Emigration record Samuel Shank

    Left Launceston in 1852 aboard the Yarra Yarra, bound for Melbourne.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 24 records for Shank in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Emigration file, Gündlingen, 1883, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Staatsarchiv Freiburg B 694/1 Nr. 1389 (CC BY 4.0).

Canada14 records

14 records of the Shank name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 9
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 3
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 1
  • City of Winnipeg cemetery records 1
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record John Richard Shank

    Died 1920 in Glace Bay, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  2. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Charles Shank

    Died 1934; buried at Brookside Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

    City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg.
  3. A Canadian First World War grave register card for a soldier who died of wounds in 1917
    Example: Canadian war grave register, 1917
    War record George Albert William Shank

    Died in service in 1944.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.

Showing 3 of 14 records for Shank in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Shank.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Shank is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

See the Shank volume
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