Shields
Usually a locational surname from North or South Shields in northeast England, though some families may descend from Shield/Sheild as a descriptive or occupational name.
The #672 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 6,074 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Most bearers of Shields are thought to take the name from North or South Shields, place-names in northeastern England. The place-name likely refers to huts, sheds, or small shelters by the shore, with forms influenced by northern English and Scandinavian speech. In some cases, the surname may also be an extended form of Shield/Sheild, which can be linked to a maker or user of shields or to a nickname involving a shield.
History
Early surname forms are recorded in medieval northern England, and the name remained especially common around the Tyne and Durham area. Nineteenth-century surname writers also noticed Shields in Scottish and northern English contexts, where local place-based surnames often overlapped with older nickname or craft-based forms. The surname later spread widely in Britain, Ireland, North America, and other English-speaking countries.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
One historical explanation connects South Shields with the old form Le Sheeles, referring to fishermen’s sheds along the Tyne shore.
From the historical record
“Shiel, q.v. SHIELDS (Scand.)Bel. to Shields; or Dweller at the Huts or Sheds [v. Shiel'] South Shields " was called Le Sheeles, from the sheds built along the shore by the fishermen of the Tyne."— iVat. Gaz. The spelling in the Yorks Poll-Tax a.d. 1379 was Scheles. (Eng.) Shield's (Son): v. Shield.”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)