Sharman
A name derived from the word "shaman", meaning a spiritual guide or healer.
Name Census estimates that about 742 living Americans carry the first name Sharman. It is a predominantly female name (97.3% of registrations). The average person named Sharman today is around 67 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Sharman births was 1950 (166 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Sharman. 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.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Sharman is about 67 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Sharmans were born before 1969.
People living today
742
~ 1 in 461,933 Americans
Peak year
1950
166 babies that year
Average age
67
years old
1976 SSA rank
#6,353
Tracked since 1929
Gender
Gender distribution for Sharman
Sharman leans heavily female at 97.3% of total registrations, but 28 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Sharman as a male name
- Ranked #6,353 in 1976
- 5 male births in 1976
- Peak: 1967 (7 births)
Sharman as a female name
- Ranked #8,825 in 1983
- 7 female births in 1983
- Peak: 1950 (160 births)
Popularity
Sharman: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Sharman from the 1920s through to the 1980s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 521 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Sharman 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 Sharman during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Sharmans live
The SSA's state-level files cover 14 states and territories. California, New York, Ohio recorded the most babies named Sharman, while Florida, Colorado, Massachusetts recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 21 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Sharman
The name Sharman is believed to have originated in India, derived from the Sanskrit word "shramana," which means "ascetic" or "wandering monk." This name has been in use for centuries and is closely associated with the Buddhist and Hindu religious traditions.
In ancient India, shramanas were wandering ascetics or spiritual seekers who renounced worldly possessions and lived a life of austerity, meditation, and self-discipline. The term was used to refer to both Buddhist and Hindu ascetics, and the name Sharman likely emerged as a way to identify individuals who followed this lifestyle.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Sharman can be found in the Pali Canon, a collection of Buddhist scriptures dating back to the 5th century BCE. These texts refer to various shramanas and their teachings, suggesting that the name was already in use during this period.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Sharman. One of the most famous was Sharman Jyoti Ravidas (1377-1528), a renowned spiritual poet and reformer from the Bhakti movement in medieval India. His teachings emphasized equality, social justice, and devotion to the divine, and his writings continue to inspire people across various religious traditions.
Another notable figure was Sharman Tulsi Das (1497-1623), a Hindu poet-saint and philosopher who is widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the Hindi language. His magnum opus, the Ramcharitmanas, is a revered work that retells the Hindu epic Ramayana and explores themes of devotion, morality, and spiritual enlightenment.
In more recent times, Sharman Narayan (1827-1924) was a prominent Indian social reformer and educator who played a crucial role in the revival of Hinduism and the establishment of the Arya Samaj movement. His efforts aimed to promote women's education, social reforms, and a return to the Vedic principles.
Another notable figure was Sharman Govindrao Patwardhan (1888-1962), an Indian freedom fighter and social activist who fought against British colonial rule and advocated for the rights of the underprivileged. He was a close associate of Mahatma Gandhi and played a significant role in India's independence movement.
Sharman Kapoor (1904-1988) was a renowned Indian film actor and producer who was instrumental in the development of the Hindi cinema industry. He starred in numerous classic films and was widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of Indian cinema.
These are just a few examples of individuals who have borne the name Sharman throughout history, reflecting its deep roots in Indian culture and its association with spiritual pursuits, social reform, and artistic expression.
People
Sharman + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Sharman 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
Sharman: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sharman?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 742 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Sharman 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 461,933 US residents.
Is Sharman a common name?
We classify Sharman as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,042 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Sharman most popular?
The single biggest year for Sharman was 1950, when 166 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Sharman is about 67 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Sharman a female name?
Yes, 97.3% of people registered as Sharman 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.
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.