The Shen surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 12,839 people carried this name — #2,806 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 23,000 people counted. That is up 45% from 8,832 in 2000.

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In Argentina’s national register

At least 178 people named Shen 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 City of Buenos Aires.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Where they live today

City of Buenos Aires 109
Buenos Aires Province 38
Santa Fe 11
Córdoba 10
Mendoza 10

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

In Switzerland’s population statistics

165 people named Shen live in Switzerland.

They live in 12 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Where they live today

Zurich 54
Vaud 25
Geneva 20
Aargau 18
Fribourg 7
Neuchâtel 7
Bern 7
Lucerne 7

Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.

In Belgium’s population register

At least 55 people named Shen live in Belgium.

Statbel only publishes a name in a municipality when five or more people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Antwerp.

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

Where they live today

Antwerp 17
Flemish Brabant 16
Walloon Brabant 8
East Flanders 8
Brussels-Capital 6

Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.

In France’s civil register

France’s register of deaths holds 26 people named Shen.

Most of them — 23 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 2 départements, most often Val-d’Oise.

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

Where they were born

Born outside France 23
Val-d’Oise 2
Paris 1

Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.

In Poland’s population register

25 people named Shen have a registered home in Poland.

Of the 194 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 5 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Masovian.

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

Where they live today

Masovian 11
Silesian 6
Lower Silesian 4
Warmian-Masurian 2
Greater Poland 2

PESEL register, Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland (dane.gov.pl) — CC0 · living people by voivodeship of permanent residence, 20 January 2026.

In the Nordic population registers

287 people named Shen are counted in Sweden and Finland.

Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published. Finland counts its citizens, at home or abroad.

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 265
Finland (2026) 22

Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown) · Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV), Finland, surname statistics, August 2026 — CC BY 4.0.

In print

Shen in American newspapers,
1890–1903.

Newspaper page from Eagle River Review carrying the name Shen
Eagle River Review 1890-07-05
Newspaper page from The Courier-journal carrying the name Shen
The Courier-journal 1903-02-15
Newspaper page from Watertown Republican carrying the name Shen
Watertown Republican 1890-07-02

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 300 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Shen in Australian newspapers,
1830s–2000s.

2,862 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Shen. The most, 456, 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 Western Australia, at 4.2 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Western Australia 906
Queensland 688
New South Wales 445
Victoria 386
ACT (Canberra) 209
Tasmania 104
South Australia 102
Northern Territory 1

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

Who carried it

People named Shen,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Shen Youlong
    Shen Youlong d. 1645 · politician
  • Shen Xun d. 864 · poet
  • Shen Chong d. 324 · politician
  • Shen Gai d. 1166 · politician
  • Shen Gai d. 1166 · politician
  • Shen Changqing d. 1160 · politician

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 Shen,
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 States175 records

175 records of the Shen name in the United States
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 121
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 35
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 10
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 4
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 2
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 2
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record On Richard V. Shen

    Born 1925 in Ohio. Enlisted 1943 at Cleveland; sales clerk from Columbiana County.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Anna Shen

    Arrived at New York in 1890 aboard the Aller from Bremen and Southampton, aged 56; servant. From Germany.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. The receipt card sent under the U.S. Alien Registration Act of 1940
    Example: U.S. alien registration card, 1940s
    Alien registration Zoh I. Shen

    Born 1917 in China. Registered as a foreign national in Northampton, Massachusetts, under the Alien Registration Act of 1940.

    U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain)

Showing 3 of 175 records for Shen in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · 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) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Alien Registration Receipt Card, Form AR-3, photo by Bobjgalindo via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0).

Australia9 records

9 records of the Shen name in Australia
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 3
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 3
  • Tasmanian Names Index 2
  • Canberra cemetery and marriage records 1
  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 Henry Shen

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Buffalo, sailing from Quebec in 1839.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (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 Wm Shen

    Arrived in Victoria in 1861 aboard the Yorkshire, aged 21; English.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Pei Fu Shen

    Died 1995; buried at Gungahlin Cemetery, Canberra, ACT.

    ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 9 records for Shen in Australia.

Counts: Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (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); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

France4 records

4 records of the Shen 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 Fengyun Shen

    Born 1952 in China; died 1990 in Paris.

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  2. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Jinchi Shen

    Born 1929 in China; died 1999 in Montivilliers (Seine-Maritime).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  3. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Christian Dominique Shen

    Born 1955 in Argenteuil (Val-d'Oise); died 1990 in Nanterre (Hauts-de-Seine).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 3 of 4 records for Shen in France.

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 Shen.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Shen 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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