Sharrod
Of English origin, an occupational surname transferred to a given name.
Name Census estimates that about 544 living Americans carry the first name Sharrod. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Sharrod today is around 33 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Sharrod births was 1979 (23 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Sharrod. 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
544
~ 1 in 630,063 Americans
Peak year
1979
23 babies that year
Average age
33
years old
2020 SSA rank
#13,727
Tracked since 1972
Census
Sharrod in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 423 people with the first name Sharrod, which placed it at #23,223 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
#23,223
National first-name rank
People counted
423
423 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
90.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sharrod
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sharrod is Black at 90.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and White (3.3%). 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 Sharrod 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 Sharrod at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American90.5% · 383
- Two or more races3.5% · 15
- White3.3% · 14
- Hispanic or Latino1.9% · 8
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 1
Popularity
Sharrod: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Sharrod from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 147 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
Sharrod 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 Sharrod during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Sharrods live
Origin
Meaning and history of Sharrod
The name Sharrod is believed to have originated from the French language, with its roots dating back to the medieval period. The name is thought to be a combination of two Old French words: "shar," meaning "shield" or "protection," and "rod," which refers to a small branch or twig.
In its earliest forms, the name was spelled as "Charrod" or "Charraud," reflecting the French influence. The name gained popularity in various regions of France during the Middle Ages, particularly among nobility and the warrior class, as it symbolized strength, resilience, and the idea of being a protector.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the "Chanson de Roland," an epic poem from the 11th century, which mentions a character named Charrod, a valiant knight and companion of the legendary Roland. This literary reference suggests that the name had already gained recognition and significance by that time.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Sharrod. In the 14th century, Sharrod de Montfort (1285-1345) was a prominent French nobleman and military commander who played a crucial role in the Hundred Years' War between England and France.
Another prominent individual was Sharrod Delacroix (1498-1563), a French Renaissance painter and sculptor, known for his intricate works depicting religious and mythological scenes. His masterpieces can still be found adorning the walls of various churches and museums across Europe.
In the 17th century, Sharrod Beauvais (1622-1690) was a French explorer and cartographer who made significant contributions to the mapping of the Mississippi River and the territories of what is now the central United States.
During the French Revolution, Sharrod Danton (1759-1794) was a renowned orator and one of the influential leaders of the revolutionary movement. His powerful speeches and unwavering commitment to the cause of liberty earned him both admiration and criticism from his contemporaries.
Moving to the 20th century, Sharrod Marais (1912-1998) was a celebrated French author and poet, whose works explored themes of love, loss, and the human condition. His poetic style was widely acclaimed, and he received numerous literary awards throughout his career.
While the name Sharrod has its roots in the French language and culture, it has since gained recognition and usage across various regions and communities around the world, carrying with it a sense of strength, protection, and resilience.
People
Sharrod + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Sharrod 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
Sharrod: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sharrod?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 544 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Sharrod 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 630,063 US residents.
Is Sharrod a common name?
We classify Sharrod as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 563 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Sharrod most popular?
The single biggest year for Sharrod was 1979, when 23 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Sharrod is about 33 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Sharrod in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 423 people with the name Sharrod, or 0.14 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #23,223 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 Sharrod 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 Sharrod?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Sharrod leans strongly male. 417 people counted with this name were male (97.7%), compared with 10 female bearers (2.3%). 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 Sharrod?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sharrod is Black at 90.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and White (3.3%). 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 Sharrod most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Sharrod in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.5% (383 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 Sharrod in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Sharrod a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Sharrod in the SSA data are male. 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 Sharrod still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Sharrod 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 Sharrod 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 Americans are named Sharrod?
Want to know how many people have the name Sharrod? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.