Sherryl
Feminine variation of Cheryl, from French for "beloved one".
Name Census estimates that about 2,784 living Americans carry the first name Sherryl. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Sherryl today is around 68 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Sherryl births was 1946 (209 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Sherryl. 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.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Sherryl is about 68 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Sherryls were born before 1968.
People living today
2.8K
~ 1 in 123,116 Americans
Peak year
1946
209 babies that year
Average age
68
years old
1946 SSA rank
#3,955
Tracked since 1936
Census
Sherryl in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 3,690 people with the first name Sherryl, which placed it at #4,865 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
#4,865
National first-name rank
People counted
3.7K
3,690 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
76.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sherryl
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sherryl is White at 76.1%. The next largest groups are Black (13.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (5.0%). 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 Sherryl 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 Sherryl at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White76.1% · 2,809
- Black or African American13.6% · 501
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.0% · 183
- Two or more races3.0% · 110
- Hispanic or Latino1.6% · 60
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 27
Gender
Gender distribution for Sherryl
Out of the 4,109 babies given the name Sherryl since 1880, 99.9% 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.
Sherryl as a male name
- Ranked #3,955 in 1946
- 5 male births in 1946
- Peak: 1946 (5 births)
Sherryl as a female name
- Ranked #13,154 in 1995
- 6 female births in 1995
- Peak: 1957 (207 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Sherryl appears almost entirely female. Of the 3,694 people counted with this name, 99.6% were female and only a very small share were male.
Popularity
Sherryl: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Sherryl 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 1,647 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
Sherryl 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 Sherryl during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Sherryls live
The SSA's state-level files cover 31 states and territories. California, Texas, Michigan recorded the most babies named Sherryl, while Virginia, Connecticut, Mississippi recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 72 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Sherryl
The name Sherryl is a modern variant of the French feminine name Cheryl, which itself is derived from the French word "chère", meaning "dear" or "beloved". While the exact origin of the spelling "Sherryl" is unclear, it is likely an Anglicized form that emerged in the late 20th century.
Cheryl has its roots in the medieval French language, where it was used as a term of endearment or affection. It gained popularity as a given name in the 19th century, particularly in English-speaking countries. The addition of the "Sh" prefix in Sherryl may have been influenced by other names with similar sounds, such as Sherry or Sharon.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Sherryl can be found in the United States in the early 20th century. Notable individuals with the name include Sherryl Woods (born 1944), an American writer of romance and mystery novels, and Sherryl Sewill (1939-2007), an American actress and dancer.
Another notable figure is Sherryl Renee Scott (born 1975), an American actress and comedian best known for her roles in films such as "Precious" and "The Woodsman". Sherryl Underwood (born 1963) is an American comedian, actress, and television host, known for her work on shows like "The Steve Harvey Morning Show" and "The Talk".
In the world of sports, Sherryl Swoopes (born 1971) is a retired American professional basketball player who was a pioneer in the WNBA and was the first player to be signed in the league's inaugural season in 1997. She was also the first player to receive a multi-million dollar endorsement deal in women's basketball.
While the name Sherryl may not have a long historical legacy, it has gained recognition in recent decades and has been borne by notable figures across various fields, reflecting its modern and unique character.
People
Sherryl + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Sherryl 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
Sherryl: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sherryl?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,784 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Sherryl 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 123,116 US residents.
Is Sherryl a common name?
We classify Sherryl as "Rare". It ranks above 94.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 4,109 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Sherryl most popular?
The single biggest year for Sherryl was 1946, when 209 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Sherryl is about 68 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Sherryl in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 3,690 people with the name Sherryl, or 1.22 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #4,865 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 Sherryl 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 Sherryl?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Sherryl appears almost entirely female. Of the 3,694 people counted with this name, 99.6% 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 Sherryl?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sherryl is White at 76.1%. The next largest groups are Black (13.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (5.0%). 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 Sherryl most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Sherryl in the 2020 Census, accounting for 76.1% (2,809 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 Sherryl in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Sherryl a female name?
Yes, 99.9% of people registered as Sherryl 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 Sherryl still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Sherryl 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 Sherryl 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 Sherryl?
Find out how many Americans are named Sherryl on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.