2000
#105,905
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 156
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.06
Very Rare Last name
Sharts
A comical surname possibly derived from an offensive bodily function.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 150 Americans carry the last name Sharts. That puts it at #133,930 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,285,029 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Sharts 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.
Bearers in the US
150
1 in 2,285,029
Census rank
#133,930
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
131
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 131 bearers of the surname Sharts in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 133930th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Sharts, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (10.7%) and Black (3.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Sharts
The surname SHARTS is believed to have originated in the region of Saxony, Germany, during the late 15th century. It is derived from the Old High German word "scharten," which means "to scratch or scrape." This suggests that the name may have been initially given to someone who worked as a scraper or shaver, perhaps in a tannery or a similar trade.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name SHARTS can be found in the Stadtbücher (city books) of Leipzig, where a certain Hans SHARTS is mentioned as a resident in 1497. Additionally, the name appears in the Kirchenbücher (church records) of the village of Zwickau in 1512, indicating its presence in the region during that time period.
In the 16th century, the name SHARTS began to spread beyond Saxony, with records showing individuals bearing the surname in neighboring areas such as Thuringia and Brandenburg. One notable example is Johannes SHARTS, a Protestant theologian born in Erfurt, Thuringia, in 1534, who wrote several treatises on the interpretation of the Bible.
As the centuries progressed, the SHARTS name continued to disperse throughout Germany and neighboring countries. In the 17th century, a notable figure was Wilhelm SHARTS (1625-1693), a merchant from Hamburg who established successful trading routes with the Netherlands and England.
The 18th century saw the birth of Carl Friedrich SHARTS (1744-1819), a renowned composer and organist from Berlin, who is credited with writing several influential works for the church organ. His compositions were widely performed throughout German-speaking regions during his lifetime and beyond.
Another individual of note was Anna Maria SHARTS (1787-1862), a prominent figure in the early women's rights movement in Germany. Born in Württemberg, she campaigned tirelessly for equal educational opportunities for women and played a significant role in establishing several schools for girls in her home region.
As the SHARTS name spread across Europe, it also found its way to other parts of the world through emigration. While the name may have evolved into different spellings or variations in other languages and cultures, its roots can be traced back to the original German surname and its meaning related to scraping or shaving.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sharts
Among Census respondents with the surname Sharts, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (10.7%) and Black (3.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Sharts 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 Sharts surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White82.4% · 108
- Two or more races10.7% · 14
- Black or African American3.8% · 5
- Hispanic or Latino2.3% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Sharts
Sharts 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
#118,185
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 147
-9 bearers (-5.8%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Down 12,280 places
2020
#133,930
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 131
-16 bearers (-10.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 15,745 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #105,905 | 156 | 0.06 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #118,185 | 147 | 0.05 | -9 bearers (-5.8%) | Down 12,280 places |
| 2020 | #133,930 | 131 | 0.04 | -16 bearers (-10.9%) | Down 15,745 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 Sharts 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 | #118,185 | #133,930 | -13.3% |
| Count | 147 | 131 | -10.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.04 | -12.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Sharts bearers went from 147 to 131 (-10.9% change). The surname moved down 15,745 positions in the national ranking, going from #118,185 to #133,930.
FAQ
Sharts surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Sharts?
Name Census estimates that about 150 living Americans carry the surname Sharts. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,285,029 residents.
How common is Sharts?
Sharts ranks #133,930 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 131 people with the surname Sharts. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (150), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Sharts.
Has Sharts become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Sharts went from 147 recorded bearers to 131. That is a decrease of 16 (-10.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #118,185 to #133,930.
What does the Census say about the background of Sharts?
Among Census respondents with the surname Sharts, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (10.7%) and Black (3.8%). 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 Sharts in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.4% (108 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Sharts appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (82.4%), Two or More Races (10.7%), Black (3.8%). 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 Sharts (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 Sharts mean?
A comical surname possibly derived from an offensive bodily function. 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 Sharts (0.04 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 common is the surname Sharts?
Want to know how many people have the surname Sharts? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.