The origin of the Shaw surname is English and Scottish. It has a number of points of origin, most commonly it is topographical, coming from the Old English 'sceaga' (dweller by the wood) and relates to somebody who lived on or near a thicket or copse and their descendants. The surname Shaw sometimes can stem from an anglicisation of the Gaelic name 'Sitheach', but most often in Ireland it has arisen from the names that arrived during the plantation of the country in the 1600s.
Shaw, Shawe, Schaw, Schawe, Shave
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Sign up to get startedMen and women often performed different types of jobs, so these are displayed by gender to maintain their historical accuracy.
Common female occupations for Shaws in 1921
Cotton Weaver
2,144
Dressmaker
2,038
Domestic Servant
1,299
Housekeeper
974
House Keeper
915
Common male occupations for Shaws in 1921
Coal Miner
3,128
General Labourer
1,701
Farmer
1,644
Joiner
1,183
Agricultural Labourer
1,104
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