2000
#16,411
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,615
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.60
Rare Last name
Sharpless
A surname derived from the Old English "scearp-laes," meaning lacking sharpness or dull.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,803 Americans carry the last name Sharpless. That puts it at #17,564 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.53 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 190,102 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Sharpless surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Sharpless with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
1.8K
1 in 190,102
Census rank
#17,564
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,572 bearers of the surname Sharpless in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.53 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 17564th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Sharpless, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.1%. The next largest groups are Black (15.3%) and Hispanic (5.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Sharpless
The surname Sharpless originated in England, with its earliest recorded use dating back to the 13th century. It is believed to be an occupational surname, derived from the Old English word "scearp," meaning sharp or keen, and the suffix "-less," indicating a lack or absence.
One of the earliest known references to the name can be found in the Hundred Rolls of Cambridgeshire, a census-like record compiled in 1273, which mentions a "William Scharples." This suggests that the name was already established in that region by the late 13th century.
The Sharpless family is thought to have originated in the county of Cheshire, where the name was closely associated with the townships of Sharpies and Sharpies Bank, located near the town of Bolton. These place names likely derived from the same Old English root as the surname, indicating a connection between the family and the local geography.
In the 16th century, records show the presence of Sharpless families in various parts of England, including Yorkshire, Lancashire, and Gloucestershire. One notable individual from this period was John Sharpless, a merchant and alderman in the city of Bristol, who lived from approximately 1520 to 1585.
The 17th century saw the Sharpless name gain prominence in the religious community of the Society of Friends, also known as Quakers. John Sharpless (1615-1685), a Quaker minister from Cheshire, was among the earliest recorded members of this faith to bear the surname.
As the Quaker movement spread to the American colonies, several Sharpless families emigrated from England to Pennsylvania in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. One of the first to arrive was John Sharpless (1624-1685), who settled in what is now Delaware County, Pennsylvania, in 1682.
Other notable individuals with the Sharpless surname include:
1. James Sharpless (1751-1818), an American merchant and politician from Pennsylvania.
2. Benjamin Sharpless (1787-1867), an American botanist and Quaker minister.
3. Isaac Sharpless (1848-1920), an American educator who served as the president of Haverford College from 1887 to 1917.
4. Philena Fouch Sharpless (1830-1911), an American artist and educator known for her landscape paintings.
5. Alfred Sharpless (1837-1924), an English-born American chemist and inventor who developed the Sharpless epoxidation reaction, a widely used chemical process in organic synthesis.
While the Sharpless name has its roots in England, it has since spread across the globe, with families bearing this surname found in various countries, including the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sharpless
Among Census respondents with the surname Sharpless, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.1%. The next largest groups are Black (15.3%) and Hispanic (5.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Sharpless bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Sharpless surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White75.1% · 1,181
- Black or African American15.3% · 240
- Hispanic or Latino5.0% · 78
- Two or more races3.3% · 52
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 18
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Sharpless
Sharpless appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#17,367
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,626
+11 bearers (+0.7%)
Per 100,000 0.55
Rank movement Down 956 places
2020
#17,564
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,572
-54 bearers (-3.3%)
Per 100,000 0.53
Rank movement Down 197 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #16,411 | 1,615 | 0.60 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #17,367 | 1,626 | 0.55 | +11 bearers (+0.7%) | Down 956 places |
| 2020 | #17,564 | 1,572 | 0.53 | -54 bearers (-3.3%) | Down 197 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Sharpless surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #17,367 | #17,564 | -1.1% |
| Count | 1,626 | 1,572 | -3.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.55 | 0.53 | -4.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Sharpless bearers went from 1,626 to 1,572 (-3.3% change). The surname moved down 197 positions in the national ranking, going from #17,367 to #17,564.
FAQ
Sharpless surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Sharpless?
Name Census estimates that about 1,803 living Americans carry the surname Sharpless. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 190,102 residents.
How common is Sharpless?
Sharpless ranks #17,564 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.53 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,572 people with the surname Sharpless. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,803), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.53 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.53 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Sharpless.
Has Sharpless become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Sharpless went from 1,626 recorded bearers to 1,572. That is a decrease of 54 (-3.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #17,367 to #17,564.
What does the Census say about the background of Sharpless?
Among Census respondents with the surname Sharpless, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.1%. The next largest groups are Black (15.3%) and Hispanic (5.0%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Sharpless in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.1% (1,181 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Sharpless appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (75.1%), Black (15.3%), Hispanic (5.0%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Sharpless (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Sharpless mean?
A surname derived from the Old English "scearp-laes," meaning lacking sharpness or dull. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Sharpless (0.53 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people are called Sharpless?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the surname Sharpless on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.