Sharnita
A feminine name of African-American origin, possibly derived from a blend of Sharon and Anita.
Name Census estimates that about 173 living Americans carry the first name Sharnita. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Sharnita today is around 44 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Sharnita births was 1975 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Sharnita. 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.
People living today
173
~ 1 in 1,981,239 Americans
Peak year
1975
14 babies that year
Average age
44
years old
1992 SSA rank
#11,514
Tracked since 1970
Census
Sharnita in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 171 people with the first name Sharnita, which placed it at #42,203 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
#42,203
National first-name rank
People counted
171
171 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
90.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sharnita
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sharnita is Black at 90.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.3%). 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 Sharnita 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 Sharnita at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American90.1% · 154
- Two or more races2.9% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.3% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.3% · 4
- White1.8% · 3
- Hispanic or Latino0.6% · 1
Popularity
Sharnita: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Sharnita from the 1970s through to the 1990s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 83 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1970s peak, Sharnita remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Sharnita 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 Sharnita during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Sharnitas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Sharnita
The name Sharnita is believed to have its origins in the African-American community, possibly derived from a combination of the names Sharon and Anita. While its exact etymology is uncertain, it is thought to have emerged as a unique and creative name choice during the latter half of the 20th century.
Sharnita is not a name found in ancient texts or historical records, as it appears to be a relatively modern creation. However, its roots may lie in the blend of traditional names from different cultures, reflecting the diverse influences that have shaped African-American identity.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Sharnita are difficult to pinpoint precisely, as it gained popularity gradually over time. One of the earliest notable individuals with this name was Sharnita C. Gooch, an American lawyer and judge who served as a District Court Judge in the Fifth Circuit of Mississippi from 2001 to 2018.
Another prominent figure with the name Sharnita is Sharnita D. Newby, an American chemist and professor at Howard University. She has made significant contributions to the field of analytical chemistry and has been recognized for her research on environmental contaminants.
In the world of sports, Sharnita Gholston is a former professional basketball player from the United States. She played in the WNBA for the Phoenix Mercury and the Detroit Shock, and her career spanned from 2003 to 2007.
Sharnita Jeffery is an American singer and songwriter known for her work in the gospel music genre. She has released several albums and has been nominated for various awards, including the Stellar Awards and the GMA Dove Awards.
Additionally, Sharnita Mitchell is an American author and entrepreneur. She has written several books on personal growth, entrepreneurship, and motivation, and has been recognized for her work in empowering women and promoting self-development.
While the name Sharnita may not have a rich historical background dating back centuries, it has gained recognition and prominence in recent decades as a unique and meaningful name choice for many individuals, particularly within the African-American community.
People
Sharnita + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Sharnita 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
Sharnita: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sharnita?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 173 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Sharnita 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 1,981,239 US residents.
Is Sharnita a common name?
We classify Sharnita as "Very Rare". It ranks above 72.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 186 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Sharnita most popular?
The single biggest year for Sharnita was 1975, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Sharnita is about 44 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Sharnita in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 171 people with the name Sharnita, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #42,203 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 Sharnita 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 Sharnita?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Sharnita leans strongly female. 170 people counted with this name were female (98.8%), compared with 2 male bearers (1.2%). 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 Sharnita?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sharnita is Black at 90.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.3%). 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 Sharnita most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Sharnita in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.1% (154 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 Sharnita in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Sharnita a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Sharnita 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 Sharnita still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Sharnita 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 Sharnita 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 common is the name Sharnita?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.