Sheril
A feminine name derived from a French surname meaning "little darling."
Name Census estimates that about 528 living Americans carry the first name Sheril. It is a predominantly female name (99.3% of registrations). The average person named Sheril today is around 64 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Sheril births was 1964 (47 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Sheril. 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
528
~ 1 in 649,156 Americans
Peak year
1964
47 babies that year
Average age
64
years old
1933 SSA rank
#4,084
Tracked since 1933
Census
Sheril in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 834 people with the first name Sheril, which placed it at #14,190 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
#14,190
National first-name rank
People counted
834
834 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
59.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sheril
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sheril is White at 59.2%. The next largest groups are Black (21.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (10.0%). 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 Sheril 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 Sheril at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White59.2% · 494
- Black or African American21.1% · 176
- Asian and Pacific Islander10.0% · 83
- Hispanic or Latino5.8% · 48
- Two or more races3.5% · 29
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 4
Gender
Gender distribution for Sheril
Out of the 709 babies given the name Sheril since 1880, 99.3% 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.
Sheril as a male name
- Ranked #4,084 in 1933
- 5 male births in 1933
- Peak: 1933 (5 births)
Sheril as a female name
- Ranked #11,601 in 1994
- 7 female births in 1994
- Peak: 1964 (47 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Sheril leans strongly female. 803 people counted with this name were female (95.9%), compared with 34 male bearers (4.1%).
Popularity
Sheril: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Sheril from the 1930s through to the 1990s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 283 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Sheril 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 Sheril during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Sherils live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, Missouri, Texas recorded the most babies named Sheril, while Texas, Missouri, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 21 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Sheril
The name Sheril is of English origin, derived from the Old English word "scir," which means "bright" or "shining." It is believed to have emerged as a given name during the Middle Ages, around the 11th or 12th century.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Sheril can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive record of landholdings and population in England compiled in 1086 under the orders of William the Conqueror. The name appears in various spellings, such as "Sceril" and "Schiril," suggesting its use among the Anglo-Saxon population of the time.
While the name Sheril does not appear to have any direct references in ancient texts or religious scriptures, it shares its root with other names of similar origin, such as Sheryl and Cheryl, which also derive from the Old English word "scir."
One of the earliest notable individuals bearing the name Sheril was Sheril of Peterborough, a 12th-century English monk and historian who chronicled the history of the Abbey of Peterborough. His work, known as the "Chronicle of Peterborough," provides valuable insights into the social and political landscape of medieval England.
Another historical figure with the name Sheril was Sheril de Montfort, a 13th-century French nobleman and military commander who played a significant role in the Albigensian Crusade against the Cathars in southern France.
During the Renaissance period, Sheril Tiziano, an Italian painter and artist, gained recognition for his contributions to the Venetian School of painting. Born in 1490, Tiziano was known for his masterful use of color and his ability to capture the essence of his subjects.
In the 18th century, Sheril Wollstonecraft, an English writer and philosopher, became a prominent figure in the early feminist movement. Born in 1759, Wollstonecraft is best known for her influential work "A Vindication of the Rights of Woman," which argued for gender equality and women's education.
Another notable figure bearing the name Sheril was Sheril Dickinson, an American poet and writer who lived from 1822 to 1907. Dickinson's poetry explored themes of nature, love, and spirituality, and her work was widely acclaimed during her lifetime.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who bore the name Sheril, highlighting its longevity and cultural significance across various regions and time periods.
People
Sheril + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Sheril 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
Sheril: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sheril?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 528 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Sheril 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 649,156 US residents.
Is Sheril a common name?
We classify Sheril as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 709 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Sheril most popular?
The single biggest year for Sheril was 1964, when 47 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Sheril is about 64 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Sheril in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 834 people with the name Sheril, or 0.28 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #14,190 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 Sheril 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 Sheril?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Sheril leans strongly female. 803 people counted with this name were female (95.9%), compared with 34 male bearers (4.1%). 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 Sheril?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sheril is White at 59.2%. The next largest groups are Black (21.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (10.0%). 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 Sheril most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Sheril in the 2020 Census, accounting for 59.2% (494 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 Sheril in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Sheril a female name?
Yes, 99.3% of people registered as Sheril 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 Sheril still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Sheril 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 Sheril 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 have the name Sheril?
If you just want to know how many people have the name Sheril, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.