The Shaughnessy surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 6,117 people carried this name — #5,672 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 48,300 people counted. That is up 1% from 6,037 in 2000.

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Where the name comes from

The origin of the Shaughnessy surname

Shaughnessy: a surname from Irish.

Borrowed from English Shaughnessy, from Irish.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Shaughnessy» (French), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890

Ireland registered 41 births for the Shaughnessy name in 1890.

Most were registered in Connacht. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 1,800 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. One of them was indexed under another spelling of the name.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born, 1890

Connacht 26
Munster 9
Leinster 6

Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.

In print

Shaughnessy in American newspapers,
1901–1924.

Newspaper page from Le Messager carrying the name Shaughnessy
Le Messager 1924-01-02
Newspaper page from The Eureka Sentinel carrying the name Shaughnessy
The Eureka Sentinel 1922-04-08
Newspaper page from The Butte Inter Mountain carrying the name Shaughnessy
The Butte Inter Mountain 1901-08-31

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 20,483 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Shaughnessy in Australian newspapers,
1820s–2000s.

4,516 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Shaughnessy. The most, 980, date from the 1930s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in South Australia, at 3.4 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

South Australia 1,744
New South Wales 1,095
Western Australia 722
Queensland 533
Victoria 327
Tasmania 65
ACT (Canberra) 25
Northern Territory 1

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

Who carried it

People named Shaughnessy,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Thomas Shaughnessy, 1st Baron Shaughnessy
    Thomas Shaughnessy, 1st Baron Shaughnessy 1853–1923 · businessperson
  • Frank Shaughnessy
    Frank Shaughnessy 1884–1969 · baseball player
  • Alfred Thomas Shaughnessy
    Alfred Thomas Shaughnessy 1887–1916 · soldier
  • Clark Shaughnessy
    Clark Shaughnessy 1892–1970 · basketball coach
  • William G. Shaughnessy
    William G. Shaughnessy 1918–2001 · politician

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 52 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Shaughnessy,
in the records of 5 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 States2,025 records

2,025 records of the Shaughnessy name in the United States
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 659
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 562
  • Other U.S. records 804
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record James J. Shaughnessy

    Born 1948; from Sacramento, California. U.S. Army, infantryman; died of illness 1968 in South Vietnam. Buried at Golden Gate National Cemetery, California.

    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 Joseph I. Shaughnessy

    Born 1917 in Minnesota. Enlisted 1944 at Fort Snelling; farm hand from Le Sueur County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1966, buried at Fort Snelling National Cemetery, Minnesota.

    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 Mary Shaughnessy

    Arrived at New York in 1885 aboard the Baltic from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 40; servant. From Queenstown, Ireland.

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

Showing 3 of 2,025 records for Shaughnessy in the United States.

Counts: NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · 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).

Australia195 records

195 records of the Shaughnessy name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 72
  • Tasmanian Names Index 47
  • Other Australian records 76
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Michael Shaughnessy

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Minerva, sailing from England in 1817. Native of Clare. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1839.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Richard Shaughnessy

    Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1853. Married 1853 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 33.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record John Shaughnessy

    Arrived in Victoria in 1853 aboard the Ajax, aged 10; Irish.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 195 records for Shaughnessy 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) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Ireland58 records

58 records of the Shaughnessy name in Ireland County Galway graveyard records
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Martin Shaughnessy

    Died 1984, aged 77; buried at Lackagh (Old), Co. Galway.

    Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Denis Shaughnessy

    Died 1843, aged 47; buried at Killogilleen, Co. Galway.

    Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Michael Shaughnessy

    Died 1876, aged 23; buried at Killererin (Old), Co. Galway.

    Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 58 records for Shaughnessy in Ireland.

Counts: Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

Canada31 records

31 records of the Shaughnessy name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 10
  • City of Niagara Falls (Ontario) cemetery records 7
  • Other Canadian records 14
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Racley Shaughnessy

    Buried in 1981 at Lundys Lane Cemetery, Niagara Falls, Ontario.

    City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Luke Shaughnessy

    Died 1869 in Salmon River, Guysborough, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  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 Harold Wilfred Shaughnessy

    Died in service in 1917.

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

Showing 3 of 31 records for Shaughnessy in Canada.

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

United Kingdom4 records

4 records of the Shaughnessy name in the United Kingdom War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record J. Shaughnessy

    Gunner, Royal, Field Artillery. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record T. Shaughnessy

    Labour Corps. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1919.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Showing 2 of 4 records for Shaughnessy in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Shaughnessy.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Shaughnessy 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.

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