The Shea surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 33,329 people carried this name — #1,048 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 8,850 people counted. That is up 4% from 32,069 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Shea surname

Anglicised from Irish Ó Séaghdha.

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

As a surname in the United Kingdom

Harrison classes it as a Celtic name: ‘Descendant of Seaghdha, i.e. Stately, Majestic’.

Harrison refers Shea to O'Shea: from the Irish O'Seaghdha.

From Henry Harrison, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary, vol. II (London: The Morland Press, 1918), p. 53 · public domain.

In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890

Ireland registered 246 births for the Shea name in 1890.

They were registered in all four provinces, most of all in Munster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 10,900 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Where they were born, 1890

Munster 217
Leinster 24
Connacht 3
Ulster 2

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

In Argentina’s national register

At least 28 people named Shea live in Argentina.

RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Santa Fe.

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

Where they live today

Santa Fe 28

RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.

In print

Shea in American newspapers,
1897–1922.

Newspaper page from Frostburg Mining Journal carrying the name Shea
Frostburg Mining Journal 1908-05-09
Newspaper page from The Silver State carrying the name Shea
The Silver State 1922-10-17
Newspaper page from Foster's Daily Democrat carrying the name Shea
Foster's Daily Democrat 1897-09-14

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 6,015 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Shea in Australian newspapers,
1820s–2000s.

72,215 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Shea. The most, 13,185, date from the 1930s. Queensland has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in the Northern Territory, at 4.8 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Queensland 22,817
New South Wales 20,168
Victoria 16,848
Western Australia 4,019
Tasmania 3,927
South Australia 3,508
Northern Territory 522
ACT (Canberra) 298

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

Who carried it

People named Shea,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Ambrose Shea
    Ambrose Shea 1815–1905 · politician
  • John Gilmary Shea
    John Gilmary Shea 1824–1892 · writer
  • Joseph Shea
    Joseph Shea 1829–1881 · Catholic priest
  • John Bernard Shea
    John Bernard Shea 1851– · politician
  • John Francis Shea
    John Francis Shea 1858– · politician

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped — Joseph Shea: Rhorowitz4, CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0); the others are in the public domain or CC0 · 181 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Shea,
in the records of 8 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 States14,776 records

14,776 records of the Shea name in the United States
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 5,739
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 3,898
  • Other U.S. records 5,139
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Andrew Barton Shea

    Born 1932; from Mobile County, Alabama. U.S. Army, light weapons infantryman; killed in action 1951 in North Korea. Buried at Mobile National Cemetery, Alabama.

    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 Andrew C. Shea

    Born 1916 in New York. Enlisted 1942 at Fort Jay Governors Island; warehouseman from Queens County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1960, buried at Long Island National Cemetery, New York.

    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 Shea

    Arrived at New York in 1892 aboard the Adriatic from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 24; servant. From Dublin, Ireland; bound for New York.

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

Showing 3 of 14,776 records for Shea in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · 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) · New York State, Open NY (police and firefighter memorial rolls) · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL). 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).

Australia1,769 records

1,769 records of the Shea name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 602
  • Tasmanian Names Index 474
  • Other Australian records 693
  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 Francis Shea

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Fairlie, sailing from Plymouth in 1852. Native of Clare. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1854. Married 1854 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 41.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Vernon Reginald Shea

    Born 1896 in Hobart, Tasmania. Died 1938 in Tasmania, aged 42.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record John Arthur Shea

    Born 1855 in Port Sorell, Tasmania. Married 1878 in Port Sorell, Tasmania, aged 22.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 1,769 records for Shea 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) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). 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); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

Canada708 records

708 records of the Shea name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 617
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 29
  • Other Canadian records 62
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Mary Kathleen Shea

    Killed in the Halifax Explosion of 1917, aged 21; buried at Mount Olivet Cemetery, Halifax.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record John Shea

    Came to Ontario in 1870 aboard the Tweed, landing at Quebec, bound for Malton, Ontario; Irish.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
  3. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Irene Christina Shea

    Buried in 1997 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 90.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.

Showing 3 of 708 records for Shea 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 Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · Contains information provided by the City of Waterloo under licence · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

United Kingdom28 records

28 records of the Shea name in the United Kingdom
  • St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 11
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 9
  • Other British records 8
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Mary G. Shea

    Died 1949, aged 65; buried at Bannockburn Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Mary John Shea

    Buried in 1818 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 33.

    MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  3. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record R. T. Shea

    Vork and Lancaster Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.

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

Showing 3 of 28 records for Shea in the United Kingdom.

Counts: MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

New Zealand20 records

20 records of the Shea name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 17
  • Marlborough District cemetery records 3
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Peter Denis Shea

    Died 1976, aged 63; buried at Bromley Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record William John Shea

    Died 1945, aged 78; buried at Omaka Cemetery, Marlborough.

    Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record William Shea

    Died 1910, aged 78; buried at Linwood Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 20 records for Shea in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · Marlborough District 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).

Ireland5 records

5 records of the Shea name in Ireland County Galway graveyard records
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Michl Shea

    Died 1830, aged 44; buried at Clontuskert, 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 Bridgt Shea

    Died 1932, aged 38; buried at Clontuskert, Co. Galway.

    Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 2 of 5 records for Shea 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).

Netherlands2 records

2 records of the Shea name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch population registers 1
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 1
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record John Edward Shea

    Married in 1931 in Rotterdam.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Rotterdam (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Eleanor Margaret Shea

    In the population register of 's-Gravenhage; born 1895 in Cambridge.

    Open Archives, Haags Gemeentearchief (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

France1 record

1 record of the Shea name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record John Eugene Shea

    Born 1920 in the United States; died 1994 in Marchaux (Doubs).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Shea.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Shea 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 Shea volume
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