Sharmake
A masculine Somali name meaning "the illustrious", "the famous one".
Name Census estimates that about 10 living Americans carry the first name Sharmake. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Sharmake today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Sharmake births was 2007 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Sharmake. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Sharmake with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Sharmake. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
10
~ 1 in 34,275,434 Americans
Peak year
2007
5 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2016 SSA rank
#13,883
Tracked since 2007
Popularity
Sharmake: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Sharmake from the 2000s through to the 2010s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 5 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Sharmake 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 Sharmake 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 Sharmake
Sharmake is a given name of Somali origin. It is derived from the Arabic name Sharmarkah, which is a combination of the words "shar" meaning "glory" and "markah" meaning "high place" or "elevated rank."
The name has been in use among the Somali people for centuries, with its roots tracing back to the medieval era when Arabic influence spread throughout the Horn of Africa region. It is believed to have gained popularity during the time of the Adal Sultanate, a multi-ethnic Muslim empire that existed in the region from the 9th to the 16th century.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Sharmake can be found in the 16th-century Somali chronicles, where it is mentioned as the name of a prominent leader and warrior during the conflict between the Adal Sultanate and the Abyssinian Kingdom. This leader, Sharmake Ibn Ali, is described as a skilled strategist and a fierce fighter who played a crucial role in the military campaigns of the time.
Throughout history, the name Sharmake has been borne by several notable individuals. In the 18th century, Sharmake Farah was a renowned Somali poet and scholar whose works have been preserved and studied by generations of scholars. Sharmake Noor, born in the late 19th century, was a respected religious leader and teacher who played a significant role in the spread of Islam in the Somali region.
In the 20th century, Sharmake Abdullahi was a prominent Somali politician and diplomat who served as the first ambassador of Somalia to the United Nations after the country gained independence in 1960. Sharmake Ali Ahmed, born in 1945, was a Somali writer and journalist who made significant contributions to the development of Somali literature and journalism.
More recently, Sharmake Ahmed Ismail Salah, born in 1955, is a Somali politician and diplomat who has held various positions in the Somali government, including serving as the Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2013 to 2017.
People
Sharmake + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Sharmake 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
Sharmake: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sharmake?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 10 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Sharmake 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 34,275,434 US residents.
Is Sharmake a common name?
We classify Sharmake as "Very Rare". It ranks above 28.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 10 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Sharmake most popular?
The single biggest year for Sharmake was 2007, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Sharmake is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Sharmake in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Sharmake a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Sharmake in the SSA data are male. 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 Sharmake still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Sharmake 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 Sharmake 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people have Sharmake as a first name?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.