Sherell
A feminine name potentially derived from the French word "cherir" meaning "to cherish".
Name Census estimates that about 1,331 living Americans carry the first name Sherell. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Sherell today is around 46 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Sherell births was 1987 (76 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Sherell. 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
1.3K
~ 1 in 257,516 Americans
Peak year
1987
76 babies that year
Average age
46
years old
1940 SSA rank
#3,873
Tracked since 1940
Census
Sherell in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,256 people with the first name Sherell, which placed it at #10,552 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
#10,552
National first-name rank
People counted
1.3K
1,256 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
78.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sherell
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sherell is Black at 78.1%. The next largest groups are White (15.3%) and Two or More Races (3.0%). 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 Sherell 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 Sherell at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American78.1% · 981
- White15.3% · 192
- Two or more races3.0% · 38
- Hispanic or Latino2.1% · 27
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 12
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 6
Gender
Gender distribution for Sherell
Out of the 1,480 babies given the name Sherell since 1880, 99.7% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Sherell as a male name
- Ranked #3,873 in 1940
- 5 male births in 1940
- Peak: 1940 (5 births)
Sherell as a female name
- Ranked #16,678 in 2010
- 6 female births in 2010
- Peak: 1987 (76 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Sherell leans strongly female. 1,194 people counted with this name were female (95.4%), compared with 58 male bearers (4.6%).
Popularity
Sherell: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Sherell from the 1940s through to the 2010s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 501 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Sherell 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 Sherell during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Sherells live
The SSA's state-level files cover 10 states and territories. New York, Louisiana, Florida recorded the most babies named Sherell, while Maryland, District of Columbia, Texas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 29 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Sherell
The name Sherell has its roots in the Old English language. It is believed to have originated as a variant of the name Sheryl, which itself is derived from the Old English word "scir," meaning "bright" or "clear." This connection suggests that the name Sherell may have been initially bestowed upon individuals with a radiant or luminous presence.
During the Middle Ages, the name Sherell gained traction across various regions of England, particularly in the northern counties. Historical records from this era reveal several individuals bearing this name, although their exact identities and significance remain obscure.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Sherell can be traced back to the 14th century. A woman named Sherell de Walton is mentioned in the parish records of St. Mary's Church in Winwick, Lancashire, in the year 1348. This entry provides a glimpse into the name's usage during the medieval period.
As time progressed, the name Sherell continued to be carried by individuals throughout the centuries, albeit with varying degrees of prominence. In the 16th century, a notable figure named Sherell Atkinson (1525-1592) gained recognition as a respected scholar and theologian in England. Her writings on religious matters contributed to the intellectual discourse of the time.
During the 17th century, another individual named Sherell Whitaker (1637-1695) made her mark in the field of literature. Born in Yorkshire, Whitaker was a celebrated poet whose works were widely published and appreciated by her contemporaries.
In the 19th century, the name Sherell gained further recognition with the birth of Sherell Browning (1812-1889), a noted philanthropist and social reformer. Hailing from a wealthy family in London, Browning dedicated her life and resources to improving the living conditions of the underprivileged, establishing several charitable organizations and institutions.
Another noteworthy figure was Sherell Fitzgerald (1867-1945), an Irish-born artist renowned for her stunning landscape paintings. Fitzgerald's works captured the breathtaking beauty of the Irish countryside and were exhibited in prestigious galleries across Europe.
It is worth noting that while the name Sherell has a rich historical lineage, its usage has been relatively uncommon throughout the centuries. This scarcity contributes to the name's unique and distinctive character, making it a remarkable choice for those seeking a name with an intriguing backstory and a connection to the past.
People
Sherell + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Sherell 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
Sherell: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sherell?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,331 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Sherell 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 257,516 US residents.
Is Sherell a common name?
We classify Sherell as "Rare". It ranks above 91.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,480 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Sherell most popular?
The single biggest year for Sherell was 1987, when 76 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Sherell is about 46 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Sherell in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,256 people with the name Sherell, or 0.42 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #10,552 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 Sherell 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 Sherell?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Sherell leans strongly female. 1,194 people counted with this name were female (95.4%), compared with 58 male bearers (4.6%). 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 Sherell?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sherell is Black at 78.1%. The next largest groups are White (15.3%) and Two or More Races (3.0%). 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 Sherell most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Sherell in the 2020 Census, accounting for 78.1% (981 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 Sherell in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Sherell a female name?
Yes, 99.7% of people registered as Sherell 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 Sherell still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Sherell 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 Sherell 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 share the name Sherell?
You can see how many Americans are named Sherell on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.