Sharmen
A Persian name meaning "beauty" or "beautiful".
Name Census estimates that about 30 living Americans carry the first name Sharmen. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Sharmen today is around 57 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Sharmen births was 1969 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Sharmen. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Sharmen. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
30
~ 1 in 11,425,145 Americans
Peak year
1969
10 babies that year
Average age
57
years old
1973 SSA rank
#9,519
Tracked since 1958
Census
Sharmen in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 115 people with the first name Sharmen, which placed it at #51,185 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
#51,185
National first-name rank
People counted
115
115 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
43.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sharmen
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sharmen is White at 43.5%. The next largest groups are Black (29.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (16.5%). 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 Sharmen 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 Sharmen at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White43.5% · 50
- Black or African American29.6% · 34
- Asian and Pacific Islander16.5% · 19
- Two or more races5.2% · 6
- Hispanic or Latino4.3% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Popularity
Sharmen: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Sharmen from the 1950s through to the 1970s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 15 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
Sharmen 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 Sharmen 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 Sharmen
The given name Sharmen is believed to have originated in the Indian subcontinent, specifically in the regions of Punjab and Sindh, during the medieval period. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "sharman," which means "peace" or "tranquility." The name is closely associated with the spiritual and philosophical traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Sharmen can be found in ancient Hindu texts, where it was used to refer to individuals who had attained a state of inner peace and enlightenment. The name was particularly popular among the Brahmin caste, who were known for their spiritual pursuits and knowledge of sacred scriptures.
In the 7th century CE, a renowned Buddhist monk named Sharmen Shreshtha was known for his teachings on compassion and non-violence. He traveled extensively throughout the Indian subcontinent, spreading the teachings of Buddhism and earning the respect of many rulers and scholars of his time.
During the Mughal Empire, which ruled over large parts of the Indian subcontinent from the 16th to the 19th century, the name Sharmen gained popularity among both Hindus and Muslims. One notable figure from this period was Sharmen Khan, a skilled military commander who served under the Mughal Emperor Akbar and played a crucial role in several military campaigns.
In the 19th century, a renowned Indian philosopher and social reformer named Sharmen Narayen advocated for the abolition of the caste system and promoted the education of women. His writings and teachings had a significant impact on the social and cultural landscape of the time.
Another notable figure was Sharmen Chatterjee, an Indian revolutionary and freedom fighter who fought against British colonial rule in the early 20th century. She was a prominent member of the Indian National Congress and participated in various non-violent protests and civil disobedience movements.
Throughout history, the name Sharmen has been associated with individuals who have made significant contributions to spirituality, philosophy, literature, and social reform movements across the Indian subcontinent and beyond.
People
Sharmen + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Sharmen 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
Sharmen: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sharmen?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 30 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Sharmen 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 11,425,145 US residents.
Is Sharmen a common name?
We classify Sharmen as "Very Rare". It ranks above 46.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 35 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Sharmen most popular?
The single biggest year for Sharmen was 1969, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Sharmen is about 57 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Sharmen in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 115 people with the name Sharmen, or 0.04 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #51,185 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 Sharmen 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 Sharmen?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Sharmen leans strongly female. 114 people counted with this name were female (95.8%), compared with 5 male bearers (4.2%). 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 Sharmen?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sharmen is White at 43.5%. The next largest groups are Black (29.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (16.5%). 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 Sharmen most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Sharmen in the 2020 Census, accounting for 43.5% (50 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 Sharmen in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Sharmen a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Sharmen 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 Sharmen still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Sharmen 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 Sharmen 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 Sharmen?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.