The Shoemaker surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 30,934 people carried this name — #1,133 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 9,530 people counted. That is up 1% from 30,756 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Shoemaker surname

A surname originating as an occupation.

By proprialization from shoemaker.

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

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as an occupational name: ‘the shoemaker’.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 687 · public domain.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

156 families named Shoemaker, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 882 people lived in those households, 5.7 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 8 other spellings. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

Pennsylvania 108
New York 20
Virginia 11
North Carolina 6
Maryland 5
South Carolina 5
Rhode Island 1

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 261 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Shoemaker in American newspapers,
1861–1915.

Newspaper page from Dollar Weekly Mirror carrying the name Shoemaker
Dollar Weekly Mirror 1861-08-24
Newspaper page from The Hood River Glacier carrying the name Shoemaker
The Hood River Glacier 1903-03-06
Newspaper page from The Glasgow Courier carrying the name Shoemaker
The Glasgow Courier 1915-08-06

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 480,779 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Shoemaker in Australian newspapers,
1820s–1970s.

3,041 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Shoemaker. The most, 774, date from the 1850s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in New South Wales, at 1.5 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 1,577
South Australia 547
Victoria 453
Tasmania 258
Queensland 133
Western Australia 55
ACT (Canberra) 5

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

Who carried it

People named Shoemaker,
with a public archive behind them.

  • George Shoemaker
    George Shoemaker 1792–1865
  • Lazarus Denison Shoemaker
    Lazarus Denison Shoemaker 1819–1893 · lawyer
  • Rachel H. Shoemaker
    Rachel H. Shoemaker 1838–1915
  • Charles Frederick Shoemaker
    Charles Frederick Shoemaker 1841–1913 · military officer
  • Henry Francis Shoemaker
    Henry Francis Shoemaker 1845–1918 · banker

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 152 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Shoemaker,
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 States2,064 records

2,064 records of the Shoemaker name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 1,147
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 410
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 192
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 159
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 83
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 50
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 7
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 7
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 7
  • Sacramento County historic burials 2
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Leonard A. Shoemaker

    Born 1918 in Maryland. Enlisted 1941 at Baltimore; plasterer from Montgomery County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1971, buried at Potomac United Meth Ch Cemetery, Frederick, Maryland.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Donald Elton Shoemaker

    Born 1943; from Buffalo, New York. U.S. Marine Corps, rifleman; killed in action 1967 in Quang Tin, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Heinr Shoemaker

    Arrived at New York in 1889 aboard the Rhynland from Antwerp, aged 21; mason. From London, Germany; bound for New York.

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

Showing 3 of 2,064 records for Shoemaker in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · 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) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Canada16 records

16 records of the Shoemaker name in Canada
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 5
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 4
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 3
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 2
  • City of Waterloo (Ontario) cemetery records 2
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record William Edward Shoemaker

    Buried in 1999 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 37.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Joseph A. Shoemaker

    Died 1920 in Digby, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  3. A Canadian First World War grave register card for a soldier who died of wounds in 1917
    Example: Canadian war grave register, 1917
    War record Joseph Vernier Shoemaker

    Died in service in 1917.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.

Showing 3 of 16 records for Shoemaker in Canada.

Counts: 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. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · Contains information provided by the City of Waterloo under licence. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

Australia9 records

9 records of the Shoemaker name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 5
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 2
  • Tasmanian Names Index 2
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Thos Shoemaker

    Arrived in Victoria in 1854 aboard the Oliver Lang, aged 31; English.

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

    Left Hobart in 1827 aboard the Emma Kemp, bound for Port Jackson, as a seaman.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. The first page of an emigration file from Gündlingen, Baden, 1883
    Example: German emigration file, 1883
    Emigration record John Shoemaker

    Left Hobart in 1827 aboard the Hawes, bound for Port Jackson, as steward.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 9 records for Shoemaker in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: 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).

Netherlands2 records

2 records of the Shoemaker name in the Netherlands Dutch population registers
  1. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Dora Shoemaker

    In the population register of Steenderen; born 1908.

    Open Archives, Erfgoedcentrum Achterhoek en Liemers (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Cornelis Shoemaker

    In the population register of A'dam; born 1912 in A'dam.

    Open Archives, Archief Eemland (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 Shoemaker.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Shoemaker 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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