Sharise
A feminine given name derived from the Arabic name Sharishah meaning "noble" or "illustrious".
Name Census estimates that about 594 living Americans carry the first name Sharise. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Sharise today is around 44 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Sharise births was 1971 (29 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Sharise. 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
594
~ 1 in 577,028 Americans
Peak year
1971
29 babies that year
Average age
44
years old
2005 SSA rank
#18,730
Tracked since 1961
Census
Sharise in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 556 people with the first name Sharise, which placed it at #19,177 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
#19,177
National first-name rank
People counted
556
556 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
54.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sharise
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sharise is Black at 54.7%. The next largest groups are White (27.5%) and Hispanic (9.4%). 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 Sharise 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 Sharise at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American54.7% · 304
- White27.5% · 153
- Hispanic or Latino9.4% · 52
- Two or more races5.0% · 28
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.3% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 6
Popularity
Sharise: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Sharise from the 1960s through to the 2000s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 211 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
Sharise 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 Sharise during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Sharises live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. New York, California, Illinois recorded the most babies named Sharise, while Illinois, California, New York recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 34 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Sharise
The name Sharise is believed to have originated from the French language, with roots dating back to the late 18th century. It is a feminine form derived from the French word "chérir," which means "to cherish" or "to hold dear." The name may have been created as a combination of "chérir" and the French suffix "-ise," signifying a person who cherishes or is cherished.
In its early years, the name Sharise was predominantly popular among French-speaking communities, particularly in France and parts of Canada. It gained wider recognition and popularity in the English-speaking world during the 20th century, as cultural exchange and migration patterns facilitated the spread of unique names across borders.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Sharise can be found in the works of French author and playwright Honoré de Balzac, who featured a character named Sharise in his novel "Le Père Goriot" published in 1835. This literary reference suggests that the name was in use, albeit likely in a limited capacity, during the early 19th century.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Sharise. One of the earliest examples is Sharise de Montfort (1820-1892), a French noblewoman and philanthropist known for her charitable work and advocacy for women's education in France.
Another prominent figure was Sharise Dubois (1876-1948), a French painter and sculptor who gained recognition for her impressionistic landscapes and portraiture during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
In the realm of literature, Sharise Lamarche (1903-1982) was a celebrated Canadian novelist and poet whose works explored themes of identity, cultural heritage, and the experiences of French-Canadians.
Moving into the 20th century, Sharise Wilson (1919-2005) was an American civil rights activist and educator who played a significant role in the desegregation of schools in the southern United States.
More recently, Sharise Davids (born 1980) made history in 2018 as one of the first Native American women elected to the United States Congress, representing Kansas' 3rd congressional district.
While the name Sharise has its roots in French culture and language, it has transcended geographical boundaries and gained a global presence, embraced by individuals from diverse backgrounds who appreciate its unique sound and meaning.
People
Sharise + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Sharise 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
Sharise: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sharise?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 594 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Sharise 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 577,028 US residents.
Is Sharise a common name?
We classify Sharise as "Very Rare". It ranks above 86.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 645 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Sharise most popular?
The single biggest year for Sharise was 1971, when 29 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Sharise is about 44 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Sharise in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 556 people with the name Sharise, or 0.18 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #19,177 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 Sharise 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 Sharise?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Sharise appears almost entirely female. Of the 563 people counted with this name, 99.5% 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 Sharise?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sharise is Black at 54.7%. The next largest groups are White (27.5%) and Hispanic (9.4%). 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 Sharise most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Sharise in the 2020 Census, accounting for 54.7% (304 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 Sharise in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Sharise a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Sharise 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 Sharise still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Sharise 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 Sharise 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 common is the name Sharise?
For a quick modern take, check how many people share the name Sharise on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.