Sharnay
A feminine name of uncertain origin, perhaps a blend of "Charna" and "Renee".
Name Census estimates that about 124 living Americans carry the first name Sharnay. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Sharnay today is around 35 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Sharnay births was 1988 (15 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Sharnay. 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 Sharnay with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
124
~ 1 in 2,764,148 Americans
Peak year
1988
15 babies that year
Average age
35
years old
2006 SSA rank
#19,593
Tracked since 1980
Census
Sharnay in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 132 people with the first name Sharnay, which placed it at #48,390 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
#48,390
National first-name rank
People counted
132
132 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
90.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sharnay
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sharnay is Black at 90.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.3%) and White (3.0%). 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 Sharnay 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 Sharnay at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American90.2% · 119
- Two or more races5.3% · 7
- White3.0% · 4
- Hispanic or Latino1.5% · 2
Popularity
Sharnay: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Sharnay from the 1980s through to the 2000s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 73 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Sharnay 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 Sharnay during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Sharnays live
Origin
Meaning and history of Sharnay
The name Sharnay is believed to have originated in the late 20th century as a variant of the name Sharon, which itself is derived from the Hebrew word "sharan" meaning "plain" or "level ground." While the name Sharon has biblical roots and appears in the Old Testament as a region in ancient Israel, the variant form Sharnay does not seem to have any direct historical or cultural ties.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Sharnay can be found in the United States, where it began gaining popularity in the 1970s and 1980s. It is speculated that the addition of the "nay" suffix was likely influenced by other popular names during that era, such as Tiffany or Brittany.
Due to its relatively modern origin, there are no known ancient texts, religious scriptures, or historical records that specifically mention the name Sharnay. However, it is worth noting that some individuals with this name may have been named after or inspired by the biblical region of Sharon.
While the name Sharnay is not particularly common, there are a few notable individuals who have borne this name throughout history. One example is Sharnay Lewis, an American actress and singer who was born in 1985 and is known for her roles in television shows like "The Parkers" and "Girlfriends."
Another individual with this name is Sharnay Semaun, a Dutch model and television personality born in 1981. She gained recognition for her appearances on various reality shows in the Netherlands.
In the world of sports, Sharnay Dewalt is an American professional basketball player born in 1994. She played college basketball for the University of Louisville before being drafted by the Los Angeles Sparks in the WNBA.
Additionally, Sharnay Gales is a British singer and songwriter born in 1989, known for her work in the R&B and soul genres.
Lastly, Sharnay Mitchell is an Australian actress born in 1985, who has appeared in several television series and films, including "Neighbours" and "The Shannara Chronicles."
It is worth noting that due to the relatively modern nature of the name Sharnay, there may be limited historical records or notable figures associated with it, as it has only gained popularity in recent decades.
People
Sharnay + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Sharnay 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
Sharnay: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sharnay?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 124 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Sharnay 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 2,764,148 US residents.
Is Sharnay a common name?
We classify Sharnay as "Very Rare". It ranks above 67.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 129 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Sharnay most popular?
The single biggest year for Sharnay was 1988, when 15 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Sharnay is about 35 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Sharnay in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 132 people with the name Sharnay, or 0.04 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #48,390 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 Sharnay 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 Sharnay?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Sharnay appears almost entirely female. Of the 137 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 Sharnay?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sharnay is Black at 90.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.3%) and White (3.0%). 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 Sharnay most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Sharnay in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.2% (119 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 Sharnay in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Sharnay a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Sharnay 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 Sharnay still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Sharnay 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 Sharnay 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 Sharnay?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.