Sharmain
Of Arabic origin, meaning "the highest beauty or grace."
Name Census estimates that about 161 living Americans carry the first name Sharmain. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Sharmain today is around 46 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Sharmain births was 1990 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Sharmain. 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
161
~ 1 in 2,128,909 Americans
Peak year
1990
14 babies that year
Average age
46
years old
1993 SSA rank
#9,407
Tracked since 1955
Census
Sharmain in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 247 people with the first name Sharmain, which placed it at #33,475 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
#33,475
National first-name rank
People counted
247
247 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
66.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sharmain
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sharmain is Black at 66.8%. The next largest groups are White (16.2%) and Hispanic (5.7%). 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 Sharmain 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 Sharmain at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American66.8% · 165
- White16.2% · 40
- Hispanic or Latino5.7% · 14
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.9% · 12
- Two or more races4.9% · 12
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.6% · 4
Popularity
Sharmain: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Sharmain from the 1950s through to the 1990s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 56 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1980s peak, Sharmain remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Sharmain 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 Sharmain during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Sharmain
The name Sharmain has its origins in the French language, with roots dating back to the Middle Ages. It is a variant of the name Charmaine, which was derived from the Old French word "charmant," meaning charming or delightful.
In the 12th century, the name Charmaine emerged as a feminine form of the French word "charme," which itself came from the Latin word "carmina," meaning song or verse. The addition of the suffix "-aine" transformed the word into a feminine name, signifying a woman of charm and grace.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Sharmain can be found in the literary works of the French poet and philosopher, Christine de Pizan (1364-1430), who used the name in her allegorical works. Her writings played a significant role in popularizing the name throughout medieval France.
During the Renaissance period, the name gained further prominence with Sharmain de Champlain (1567-1635), the wife of the French explorer and founder of Quebec, Samuel de Champlain. Her presence in the early colonial settlements of North America helped spread the name to the New World.
In the 17th century, the French dramatist and poet, Jean Racine (1639-1699), featured a character named Sharmain in his play "Andromaque," further contributing to the name's recognition and popularity.
Another notable figure bearing the name was Sharmain de Beaumont (1711-1780), a French writer and educator who authored several influential works on moral education for children, including the classic fairy tale "Beauty and the Beast."
In the realm of classical music, the French composer and pianist, Sharmain Viardot-Garcia (1821-1910), achieved international acclaim for her operatic performances and compositions during the Romantic era.
Throughout history, the name Sharmain has maintained its association with charm, grace, and artistic expression, reflecting its French origins and the cultural influence of those who bore this name.
People
Sharmain + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Sharmain 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
Sharmain: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sharmain?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 161 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Sharmain 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 2,128,909 US residents.
Is Sharmain a common name?
We classify Sharmain as "Very Rare". It ranks above 71.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 177 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Sharmain most popular?
The single biggest year for Sharmain was 1990, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Sharmain is about 46 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Sharmain in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 247 people with the name Sharmain, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #33,475 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 Sharmain 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 Sharmain?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Sharmain leans strongly female. 237 people counted with this name were female (96.7%), compared with 8 male bearers (3.3%). 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 Sharmain?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sharmain is Black at 66.8%. The next largest groups are White (16.2%) and Hispanic (5.7%). 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 Sharmain most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Sharmain in the 2020 Census, accounting for 66.8% (165 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 Sharmain in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Sharmain a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Sharmain 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 Sharmain still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Sharmain 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 Sharmain 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 Sharmain?
Want to know how many people share the name Sharmain? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.