Nowadays, orthotropic piezomaterials have enormous potential in producing electronic devices owing to their inherent merits, e.g., intrinsically robust piezoelectricity. Nevertheless, the previous theoretical studies merely report surface effects on the physical properties of SH waves in a layered transversely isotropic piezoelectric structure. Filling such a blank is a special necessity for optimizing Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW) sensors. Thus, the present paper aims to determine how surface effects and interfacial imperfection affect the attributes of SH waves in a layered orthotropic piezoelectric semi-space by means of surface piezoelectricity theory and a linear spring model. The structure mainly consists of the piezoelectric film's bottom and top surface layers and the imperfect bonding between the piezoelectric film and elastic half-space. To explicitly figure out surface and imperfect interface effects on the mechanical behavior of SH waves in a layered piezoelectric half-space, we extensively derive the phase velocity equations of SH waves in an orthotropic piezoelectric plate and an orthotropic piezoelectric half-space. Then, a comparison study among SH waves in a layered piezoelectric semi-space, a piezoelectric plate, and a piezoelectric half-space is conducted. As a result, it is revealed that the attributes of SH waves dramatically vary as the piezoelectric films’ thickness changes from microscale to nanoscale. In addition, phase velocity increases or decreases with an increasing surface elastic constant or surface density due to the enhancement of stiffness or density of the whole structure. When the ratio of piezoelectric film thickness to wavelength is small, imperfect parameters substantially reduce the phase velocity owing to a decreasing interface elastic stiffness. The comparison study shows that the imperfect parameter does not influence the waves’ velocity, while the ratio of film thickness to wavelength is relatively considerable. Anisotropic piezoelectric constant essentially weakens surface effects on the waves’ velocity. Intriguingly, a linear function is acquired and is used to measure surface density via the slope of the linear function. The summaries supply unique guidelines and instructions to open an avenue for designing and manipulating surface acoustic wave nanosensors in the future.