The Shin surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 21,735 people carried this name — #1,656 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 13,600 people counted. That is up 37% from 15,857 in 2000.

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Where the name comes from

The origin of the Shin surname

Borrowed from Korean 신 (sin), derived from 申, 辛, or 愼.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Shin» (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 217 people named Shin 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 173
Buenos Aires Province 31
Misiones 13

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

In Switzerland’s population statistics

70 people named Shin live in Switzerland.

They live in 9 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 20
Geneva 14
Aargau 9
Bern 7
Basel-Stadt 5
Lucerne 5
Fribourg 4
Vaud 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 the Nordic population registers

64 people named Shin is counted in Sweden.

Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 64

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).

In print

Shin in American newspapers,
1903–1916.

Newspaper page from Bisbee Daily Review carrying the name Shin
Bisbee Daily Review 1903-04-18
Newspaper page from The Pacific Commercial Advertiser carrying the name Shin
The Pacific Commercial Advertiser 1908-03-04
Newspaper page from Bonners Ferry Herald carrying the name Shin
Bonners Ferry Herald 1916-06-09

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 433 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Shin in Australian newspapers,
1840s–1980s.

3,403 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Shin. The most, 970, 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 1.3 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 1,139
Queensland 754
Victoria 714
South Australia 303
Tasmania 192
Western Australia 170
ACT (Canberra) 112
Northern Territory 4

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

Who carried it

People named Shin,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Sin Sukchu
    Sin Sukchu 1417–1475 · writer
  • Shin Saimdang
    Shin Saimdang 1504–1551 · writer
  • Sin Rip
    Sin Rip 1546–1592 · military personnel
  • Shin Ik-seong
    Shin Ik-seong 1588–1644 · poet
  • Shin Seok-gu
    Shin Seok-gu 1875–1950 · theologian

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped — Sin Rip: Christophe95, CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0); the others are in the public domain or CC0 · 173 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Shin,
in the records of 4 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 States131 records

131 records of the Shin name in the United States
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 65
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 23
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 19
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 16
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 8
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Paul B. S. Shin

    Born 1924 in Hawaiian Islands. Enlisted 1946; writer from Hawaiian Islands. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1965, buried at National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Honolulu, Hawaii.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Anders-P. Shin

    Arrived at New York in 1893 aboard the Servia from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 24; farmer. From Aalesund, Norway.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. A U.S. Army record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864
    Example: U.S. burial record, 1864
    Burial record Sam Ki Shin

    U.S. Army veteran of World War I. Born 1893, died 1974; buried at National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Honolulu, Hawaii.

    U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)

Showing 3 of 131 records for Shin 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. 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); Record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864, U.S. National Archives (public domain).

Australia19 records

19 records of the Shin name in Australia
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 7
  • Tasmanian Names Index 5
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 5
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 1
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 1
  1. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Thomas Henry Shin

    Retired farmer of Moyhu, Victoria; died 1987.

    Public Record Office Victoria (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 Jas Shin

    Arrived in Victoria in 1862 aboard the Aldinga, aged 30.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. The first page of an emigration file from Gündlingen, Baden, 1883
    Example: German emigration file, 1883
    Emigration record Joseph Shin

    Left Hobart Town in 1852 aboard the Marie Laure, bound for South Seas, as crew.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 19 records for Shin in Australia.

Counts: Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Emigration file, Gündlingen, 1883, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Staatsarchiv Freiburg B 694/1 Nr. 1389 (CC BY 4.0).

Canada3 records

3 records of the Shin name in Canada
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 2
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 1
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Samuel Shin

    Buried in 1955 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
  2. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Lee Hee Shin

    Died 1927; buried at Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver, British Columbia.

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

Showing 2 of 3 records for Shin in Canada.

Counts: City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · 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).

Netherlands1 record

1 record of the Shin 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 Too San Shin

    Died 1937 in Rotterdam.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Rotterdam (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 Shin.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Shin 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 Shin volume
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