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Shain Family History

Shain Name Meaning

Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic): patronymic from Shaia with the Slavic possessive suffix -in. Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic): variant of Schein . Americanized form of Croatian and Serbian Šain or Slovenian and Croatian Šajn (see Sain 2 and ).

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022


Similar surnames: Hain, Shein, Swain, Shaia, Cain, Shan, Spain, Shawn, Shaw, Smail

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Hint: Try searching for a relative alive in 1940.

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Where is the Shain family from?

You can see how Shain families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Shain family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Shain families were found in USA in 1920. In 1911 there were 56 Shain families living in Ontario. This was about 82% of all the recorded Shain's in Canada. Ontario had the highest population of Shain families in 1911.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Shain surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.

What did your Shain ancestors do for a living?

In 1921, Farmer and Farmer were the top reported jobs for men and women in the Canada named Shain. 62% of Shain men worked as a Farmer and 50% of Shain women worked as a Farmer. Some less common occupations for Americans named Shain were Clerk and Teacher. .

View Census Data for Shain | Data not to scale

*We display top occupations by gender to maintain their historical accuracy during times when men and women often performed different jobs.

Top Male Occupations In 1921

  • Farmer
    62%
  • Income
    15%
  • Labourer
    15%
  • Clerk
    10%

Top Female Occupations In 1921

  • Farmer
    50%
  • Teacher
    50%
Black & white image of two construction labourers

What Shain family records will you find?

Census Records

There are 10,000 census records available for the last name Shain. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Shain census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

Search Canadian census records for Shain

Passenger Lists

There are 1,000 immigration records available for the last name Shain. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in Canada, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

View all Shain immigration records

Draft Cards

There are 1,000 military records available for the last name Shain. For the veterans among your Shain ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

View all Shain military records

You've only scratched the surface of Shain family history

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What is the average Shain lifespan?

Between 1950 and 2004, in the United States, Shain life expectancy was at its lowest point in 1950, and highest in 1995. The average life expectancy for Shain in 1950 was 47, and 73 in 2004.

View Social Security Death Index (SSDI) for Shain

Discover the unique achievements of ancestors in the Shain family tree

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