Sharry
A feminine name of English origin meaning "bright" or "shining one".
Name Census estimates that about 667 living Americans carry the first name Sharry. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Sharry today is around 65 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Sharry births was 1949 (39 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Sharry. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
667
~ 1 in 513,875 Americans
Peak year
1949
39 babies that year
Average age
65
years old
1992 SSA rank
#13,088
Tracked since 1937
Census
Sharry in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 818 people with the first name Sharry, which placed it at #14,422 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#14,422
National first-name rank
People counted
818
818 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
76.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sharry
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sharry is White at 76.8%. The next largest groups are Black (10.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (5.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Sharry described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Sharry at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White76.8% · 628
- Black or African American10.6% · 87
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.5% · 45
- Two or more races3.3% · 27
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 23
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 8
Popularity
Sharry: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Sharry from the 1930s through to the 1990s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 264 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Sharry by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Sharry during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Sharrys live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. Michigan, California, New York recorded the most babies named Sharry, while New York, California, Michigan recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 11 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Sharry
The name Sharry is a variant spelling of the English name Sherry, derived from the Old French term "cher" or "chiere," meaning "dear" or "beloved." Its origins can be traced back to the medieval period, around the 12th century.
The name Sherry was initially used as a term of endearment or a pet name before becoming a given name in its own right. It gained popularity in England during the Middle Ages, particularly among the upper classes.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Sherry can be found in the Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer, written in the late 14th century. In this literary work, Chaucer refers to a character named Sherry, suggesting the name's usage during that time period.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Sharry or its variant spellings. One such figure was Sherry Lansing, an American film producer and former CEO of Paramount Pictures, born in 1944. She was a pioneering woman in the movie industry and played a significant role in the success of various Hollywood productions.
Another famous bearer of the name was Sherry Stringfield, an American actress born in 1967, best known for her roles in the television series ER and NYPD Blue. Her portrayal of Dr. Susan Lewis in ER earned her widespread recognition and critical acclaim.
In the literary world, Sherry Jones is an American novelist and journalist born in 1957. Her historical novels, including "The Jewel of Medina" and "The Sharp Hook of Love," have garnered attention for their exploration of Islamic themes and women's perspectives.
Sherry Turkle, born in 1948, is a renowned psychologist and sociologist who has made significant contributions to the study of human-computer interaction and the impact of technology on society. Her work has explored the intersection of technology and human psychology, shedding light on the complexities of our relationship with digital devices.
Lastly, Sherry Stringfield, an American singer and songwriter born in 1960, gained popularity in the country music scene with her hit singles "You'll Never Leave Harlan Alive" and "Beneath a Painted Sky." Her music often drew inspiration from her Appalachian roots and explored themes of love, loss, and resilience.
While the name Sharry may not have a rich historical or cultural significance beyond its roots in the Old French language, it has been borne by notable individuals across various fields, from entertainment to literature and academia.
People
Sharry + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Sharry as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with S
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Sharry: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sharry?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 667 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Sharry going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 513,875 US residents.
Is Sharry a common name?
We classify Sharry as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 953 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Sharry most popular?
The single biggest year for Sharry was 1949, when 39 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Sharry is about 65 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Sharry in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 818 people with the name Sharry, or 0.27 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #14,422 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Sharry in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Sharry?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Sharry appears almost entirely female. Of the 814 people counted with this name, 99.3% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Sharry?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sharry is White at 76.8%. The next largest groups are Black (10.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (5.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Sharry most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Sharry in the 2020 Census, accounting for 76.8% (628 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Sharry in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Sharry a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Sharry in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Sharry still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Sharry in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Sharry can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are called Sharry?
You can see how many people share the name Sharry on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.