The Shi surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 10,055 people carried this name — #3,551 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 29,300 people counted. That is up 106% from 4,886 in 2000.
Where the name comes from
The origin of the Shi surname
A surname from Mandarin of Chinese origin, the 63rd most common in China.
Romanization of Mandarin 石 (shí), 史 (shǐ), 師／师 (shī), 時／时 (shí), 士 (shì), 釋／释 (shì), and 施 (shī)
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Shi» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 789 people named Shi 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 Buenos Aires Province.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
203 people named Shi live in Switzerland.
They live in 12 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
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 52 people named Shi 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 Flemish Brabant.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
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 23 people named Shi.
Most of them — 23 — were born outside France.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In national population registers
356 people named Shi are counted in Sweden, Finland and Slovenia.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published. Finland counts its citizens, at home or abroad. Slovenia counts its residents on 1 January 2026.
Counted, by country
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 · source: Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia (SURS), SiStat tables 05X1015S–05X1018S, family names of the population, 1 January 2026 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).
In print
Shi in American newspapers,
1911–1920.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 1,062 pages in all carry the name.
In print
Shi in Australian newspapers,
1830s–1990s.
6,413 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Shi. The most, 1,089, date from the 1920s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in Victoria, at 1.6 times its expected share.
Articles, by state
Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Shi.
Who carried it
People named Shi,
with a public archive behind them.
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Shi Hui d. 335 · military personnel
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Shi Chaoyi d. 763 · military personnel
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Shi Hou d. 1460 · politician
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Shi Heng d. 1460 · military personnel
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Shi Biao d. 1460 · military personnel
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Shi Chaogan d. 1797 · poet
Wikidata (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.
In the public record
People named Shi,
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 States33 records
- U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 18
- U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 11
- New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 3
- Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 1
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Example: passenger manifest, 1903 Passenger record Anna ShiArrived at New York in 1883 aboard the Westernland from Antwerp, aged 24; servant. From Chicago, Germany; bound for New York.
U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) -
Example: U.S. registration card, 1942 Military record Trammell F. ShiBorn 1918 in Georgia. Enlisted 1941 at Fort McPherson Atlanta; secondary school teacher from Bibb County.
U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) -
Example: U.S. alien registration card, 1940s Alien registration Wong ShiBorn 1891 in Kwangtung, China. Entered the United States at El Paso in 1947. Listed in the U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955.
U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain)
Showing 3 of 33 records for Shi in the United States.
Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · 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). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Alien Registration Receipt Card, Form AR-3, photo by Bobjgalindo via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0).
Australia4 records
- Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 2
- Tasmanian Names Index 1
- Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 1
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Example: probate petition, 1848 Probate record Maria Hermine ShiRetired of Bayswater, Victoria; died 1999.
Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) -
Example: civil register, 1880 Death record Ah ShiDied 1880 in Ringarooma, Tasmania, aged 22.
Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
Showing 2 of 4 records for Shi in Australia.
Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).
France3 records
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Example: French death register, 1930 Death record Saly ShiBorn 1920 in China; died 2001 in Cornebarrieu (Haute-Garonne).
Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte) -
Example: French death register, 1930 Death record Yi ShiBorn 1933 in China; died 1997 in Fontainebleau (Seine-et-Marne).
Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte) -
Example: French death register, 1930 Death record Yiao Hua ShiBorn 1953 in China; died 1990 in Paris.
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).
United Kingdom2 records
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Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919 War record J. ShiBombardier, Labour Corps. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1918.
National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) -
Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919 War record W. H. ShiQueen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment). Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1917.
National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
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).
Netherlands1 record
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Example: U.S. census, 1910 Population register Chu Tse ShiIn the population register of 's-Gravenhage; born 1908 in Tchekiang.
Open Archives, Haags Gemeentearchief (CC BY 4.0)
Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Shi.
- Sherlock 5,211 · U.S. census
- Sherman 70,502 · U.S. census
- Sherrill 13,631 · U.S. census
- Sherrod 8,420 · U.S. census
- Sherry 7,271 · U.S. census
- Sherwood 21,384 · U.S. census
- Shields 50,832 · U.S. census
- Shifflett 8,544 · U.S. census
- Shiflett 3,679 · U.S. census
- Shih 4,935 · U.S. census
- Shilling 4,738 · U.S. census
- Shim 4,958 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Shi 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.