The Shih surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 4,935 people carried this name — #6,833 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 59,900 people counted. That is up 20% from 4,113 in 2000.

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Where the name comes from

The origin of the Shih surname

A surname from Mandarin of Chinese origin.

From Wade–Giles 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 «Shih» (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 66 people named Shih 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.

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

Where they live today

City of Buenos Aires 48
Buenos Aires Province 18

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

In Switzerland’s population statistics

25 people named Shih live in Switzerland.

They live in 5 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.

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

Where they live today

Zurich 7
Geneva 5
Vaud 5
Zug 5
Fribourg 3

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 print

Shih in American newspapers,
1912–1916.

Newspaper page from Springfield Weekly Republican carrying the name Shih
Springfield Weekly Republican 1916-06-08
Newspaper page from The Ekalaka Eagle carrying the name Shih
The Ekalaka Eagle 1916-04-07
Newspaper page from East Mississippi Times carrying the name Shih
East Mississippi Times 1912-06-28

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 18,017 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Shih in Australian newspapers,
1880s–1990s.

455 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Shih. The most, 251, date from the 1940s. New South Wales 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 Australian Capital Territory, at 1.8 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 166
Queensland 93
Victoria 53
Western Australia 53
ACT (Canberra) 32
South Australia 32
Tasmania 20

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

Who carried it

People named Shih,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Ching Shih
    Ching Shih 1775–1844 · pirate
  • Chung-wen Shih 1922–2014 · pedagogue

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 Shih,
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 States65 records

65 records of the Shih name in the United States
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 63
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 1
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 1
  1. The receipt card sent under the U.S. Alien Registration Act of 1940
    Example: U.S. alien registration card, 1940s
    Alien registration Ming Chang Shih

    Born 1917 in Siao Shih, China. Entered the United States at San Francisco in 1948. Listed in the U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955.

    U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain)
  2. An Oregon State Board of Health certificate of death, 1910
    Example: U.S. death certificate, 1910
    Death record Feng T. Shih

    Died 1966 in New York State, aged 85.

    New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index
  3. The receipt card sent under the U.S. Alien Registration Act of 1940
    Example: U.S. alien registration card, 1940s
    Alien registration Jao T. Shih

    Born 1909 in China. Registered as a foreign national in Washington, District Of Columbia, under the Alien Registration Act of 1940.

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

Showing 3 of 65 records for Shih in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (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: Alien Registration Receipt Card, Form AR-3, photo by Bobjgalindo via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0); Certificate of death, Oregon State Board of Health, 1910, Oregon State Archives (public domain).

France2 records

2 records of the Shih 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 Mohamed Shih

    Born 1930 in Morocco; died 1997 in Strasbourg (Bas-Rhin).

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

    Born 1931 in China; died 1998 in Raizeux (Yvelines).

    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).

Canada1 record

1 record of the Shih name in Canada City of Calgary cemetery records
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Fong Ying Shih

    Buried in 1997 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 54.

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

Counts: City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0).

Australia1 record

1 record of the Shih name in Australia Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001
  1. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Muneer Shih

    Hawker of Erica, Victoria; died 1938.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (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).

Netherlands1 record

1 record of the Shih name in the Netherlands Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths)
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Chi Shon Shih

    Died 1971 in Utrecht; born 1920 in Shantung; cook.

    Open Archives, Het Utrechts Archief (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Shih.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Shih 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 Shih volume
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