Sharna
A feminine name derived from the Sanskrit word "sarna" meaning beautiful.
Name Census estimates that about 369 living Americans carry the first name Sharna. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Sharna today is around 49 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Sharna births was 1972 (22 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Sharna. 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 Sharna with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
369
~ 1 in 928,874 Americans
Peak year
1972
22 babies that year
Average age
49
years old
2006 SSA rank
#19,592
Tracked since 1956
Census
Sharna in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 488 people with the first name Sharna, which placed it at #20,967 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
#20,967
National first-name rank
People counted
488
488 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
43.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sharna
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sharna is Black at 43.9%. The next largest groups are White (40.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (8.0%). 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 Sharna 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 Sharna at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American43.9% · 214
- White40.2% · 196
- Asian and Pacific Islander8.0% · 39
- Two or more races4.7% · 23
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 14
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 2
Popularity
Sharna: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Sharna from the 1950s through to the 2000s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 142 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Sharna 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 Sharna 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 Sharna
The name Sharna is believed to have its origins in the Sanskrit language of ancient India. It is thought to be derived from the Sanskrit word "sharn," which means "refuge" or "shelter." This suggests that the name Sharna may have initially been used to describe someone who provided protection or offered a safe haven.
In Hindu mythology, there are references to a celestial nymph named Sharna, who was known for her beauty and grace. This could indicate that the name was associated with feminine qualities and may have been bestowed upon baby girls as a way to imbue them with similar attributes.
The earliest recorded use of the name Sharna dates back to the 8th century CE in various Hindu texts and inscriptions found in regions that are now parts of modern-day India and Nepal. During this time period, the name appeared to be more prevalent among certain communities and castes within the Indian subcontinent.
One of the earliest known individuals with the name Sharna was Sharna Devi, a renowned Sanskrit scholar and poet who lived in the 9th century CE. Her literary works, which included poetry and commentaries on ancient texts, were highly regarded and contributed to the preservation of Sanskrit literature.
In the 12th century, there was a prominent Buddhist monk named Sharna Siddhi who was known for his philosophical teachings and his expertise in the practice of meditation. He is believed to have established several monasteries and played a significant role in the spread of Buddhism in parts of South Asia.
During the Mughal Empire in the 16th century, Sharna Begum was a prominent figure at the court of Emperor Akbar. She was a skilled calligrapher and artist, and her works were highly valued and celebrated during that time.
In the 19th century, Sharna Devi was a renowned Indian classical dancer and choreographer who played a crucial role in reviving and promoting the traditional dance form of Kathak. Her contributions to the art form earned her widespread recognition and acclaim.
Another notable individual with the name Sharna was Sharna Parva, a pioneering Indian woman aviator who made history in the 1930s by becoming one of the first women in India to obtain a pilot's license. Her achievements inspired many other women to pursue careers in aviation and helped challenge gender norms of the time.
People
Sharna + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Sharna 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
Sharna: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sharna?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 369 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Sharna 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 928,874 US residents.
Is Sharna a common name?
We classify Sharna as "Very Rare". It ranks above 81.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 412 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Sharna most popular?
The single biggest year for Sharna was 1972, when 22 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Sharna is about 49 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Sharna in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 488 people with the name Sharna, or 0.16 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #20,967 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 Sharna 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 Sharna?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Sharna appears almost entirely female. Of the 489 people counted with this name, 100.0% 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 Sharna?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sharna is Black at 43.9%. The next largest groups are White (40.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (8.0%). 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 Sharna most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Sharna in the 2020 Census, accounting for 43.9% (214 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 Sharna in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Sharna a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Sharna 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 Sharna still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Sharna 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 Sharna 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 share the name Sharna?
Want to know how many people share the name Sharna? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.