Sharita
A feminine Hindu name meaning "obedient, well-behaved girl".
Name Census estimates that about 2,450 living Americans carry the first name Sharita. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Sharita today is around 43 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Sharita births was 1985 (165 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Sharita. 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
2.5K
~ 1 in 139,900 Americans
Peak year
1985
165 babies that year
Average age
43
years old
2013 SSA rank
#18,861
Tracked since 1955
Census
Sharita in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,150 people with the first name Sharita, which placed it at #7,169 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
#7,169
National first-name rank
People counted
2.1K
2,150 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.7
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
86.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sharita
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sharita is Black at 86.8%. The next largest groups are White (6.1%) and Two or More Races (2.9%). 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 Sharita 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 Sharita at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American86.8% · 1,867
- White6.1% · 132
- Two or more races2.9% · 62
- Hispanic or Latino2.0% · 42
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.7% · 36
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 11
Popularity
Sharita: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Sharita from the 1950s through to the 2010s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 1,332 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
Sharita 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 Sharita during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Sharitas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 21 states and territories. Michigan, Illinois, Pennsylvania recorded the most babies named Sharita, while Wisconsin, Indiana, Louisiana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 62 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Sharita
The given name Sharita originates from the Sanskrit language, which is an ancient Indo-Aryan language that was widely used in the Indian subcontinent. The name Sharita is derived from the Sanskrit word "Sharad," which means autumn or the fall season. It is believed that the name was initially given to children born during the autumn season, signifying the beauty and vibrancy associated with this time of the year.
In ancient Hindu texts and scriptures, the name Sharita is often mentioned in association with various Hindu goddesses, particularly those related to fertility, abundance, and prosperity. The name holds spiritual significance and is believed to bring blessings and good fortune to the bearer.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Sharita dates back to the 5th century BCE. In the epic Sanskrit poem Mahabharata, there is a character named Sharita, who is described as a wise and learned woman. This reference suggests that the name has been in use for over two millennia.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Sharita. One of the most famous was Sharita Devi (1853-1920), a renowned Indian freedom fighter and social reformer who played a significant role in the Indian independence movement against British colonial rule.
Another notable figure was Sharita Charan Mukherjee (1877-1943), an Indian scientist and educator who made significant contributions to the field of chemistry and was awarded the prestigious Palit Gold Medal by the Asiatic Society of Bengal.
In the realm of literature, Sharita Srivastava (1923-2004) was a prominent Indian writer and poet who authored several acclaimed works, including the novel "Trishanku" and the poetry collection "Anant Jal."
Sharita Gulati (1944-2021) was an Indian classical dancer and choreographer who was renowned for her expertise in the Kathak dance form. She received numerous awards and accolades for her contributions to the preservation and promotion of Indian classical dance.
Lastly, Sharita Bhatt (born 1962) is a contemporary Indian writer and poet who has published several works of poetry and prose, including the collections "Saat Sookshma Tre" and "The Never-Ending Primordial Journey." Her works explore themes of identity, culture, and the human experience.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals who have borne the name Sharita throughout history, highlighting the rich cultural and historical significance of this name.
People
Sharita + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Sharita 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
Sharita: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sharita?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,450 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Sharita 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 139,900 US residents.
Is Sharita a common name?
We classify Sharita as "Rare". It ranks above 94.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,637 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Sharita most popular?
The single biggest year for Sharita was 1985, when 165 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Sharita is about 43 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Sharita in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,150 people with the name Sharita, or 0.71 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #7,169 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 Sharita 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 Sharita?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Sharita appears almost entirely female. Of the 2,148 people counted with this name, 99.9% 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 Sharita?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sharita is Black at 86.8%. The next largest groups are White (6.1%) and Two or More Races (2.9%). 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 Sharita most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Sharita in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.8% (1,867 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 Sharita in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Sharita a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Sharita 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 Sharita still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Sharita 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 Sharita 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 Americans are named Sharita?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.