Sherah
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly meaning "kinswoman" or "related".
Name Census estimates that about 181 living Americans carry the first name Sherah. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Sherah today is around 42 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Sherah births was 1981 (19 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Sherah. 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
181
~ 1 in 1,893,670 Americans
Peak year
1981
19 babies that year
Average age
42
years old
1998 SSA rank
#10,991
Tracked since 1973
Census
Sherah in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 255 people with the first name Sherah, which placed it at #32,783 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
#32,783
National first-name rank
People counted
255
255 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
59.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sherah
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sherah is White at 59.6%. The next largest groups are Black (26.7%) and Hispanic (6.7%). 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 Sherah 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 Sherah at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White59.6% · 152
- Black or African American26.7% · 68
- Hispanic or Latino6.7% · 17
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.5% · 9
- Two or more races2.7% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 2
Popularity
Sherah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Sherah from the 1970s through to the 1990s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 119 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Sherah 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 Sherah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Sherahs live
Origin
Meaning and history of Sherah
The name Sherah is believed to have its origins in the Hebrew language. It is derived from the Hebrew word "sha'ar," which means "gate" or "portal." The name may have been given to girls in ancient times with the hope that they would be a gateway to blessings or a new beginning.
In the Old Testament of the Bible, Sherah is mentioned as the daughter of Ephraim, one of the twelve tribes of Israel. This reference is found in the book of Numbers, chapter 26, verse 46, and in the book of 1 Chronicles, chapter 7, verse 24. However, not much is known about the historical figure of Sherah beyond her brief mention in these biblical texts.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Sherah can be traced back to the 12th century. Sherah bat Yitzchak, a Jewish woman from France, lived during this time and is mentioned in a few historical records from the period.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Sherah. One such person was Sherah Reyna (1505-1548), a Jewish poet and scholar who lived in Italy during the Renaissance era. She was known for her contributions to Hebrew literature and her teachings on Jewish law and philosophy.
Another notable Sherah was Sherah Sassoon (1834-1909), a member of the influential Sassoon family from Baghdad. She was an influential philanthropist and played a significant role in supporting Jewish communities in various parts of the Middle East.
In the 19th century, Sherah Cornthwaite (1825-1898) was a British author and activist who wrote extensively on women's rights and social reform. She was a prominent figure in the early feminist movement and advocated for educational opportunities for women.
Sherah Kuruppillai (1889-1976) was an Indian social reformer and educator who dedicated her life to improving the lives of women and children in her country. She founded several schools and organizations focused on empowering underprivileged communities.
Sherah Graham (1915-1988) was an American writer and actress who achieved fame for her autobiographical works and her relationships with several prominent literary figures of her time, including F. Scott Fitzgerald and Sheilah Graham.
While these are just a few examples, the name Sherah has been carried by individuals from diverse backgrounds and cultures throughout history, each leaving their own unique mark on the world.
People
Sherah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Sherah 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
Sherah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sherah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 181 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Sherah 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 1,893,670 US residents.
Is Sherah a common name?
We classify Sherah as "Very Rare". It ranks above 72.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 193 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Sherah most popular?
The single biggest year for Sherah was 1981, when 19 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Sherah is about 42 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Sherah in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 255 people with the name Sherah, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #32,783 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 Sherah 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 Sherah?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Sherah appears almost entirely female. Of the 249 people counted with this name, 99.6% 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 Sherah?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sherah is White at 59.6%. The next largest groups are Black (26.7%) and Hispanic (6.7%). 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 Sherah most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Sherah in the 2020 Census, accounting for 59.6% (152 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 Sherah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Sherah a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Sherah 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 Sherah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Sherah 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 Sherah 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 have Sherah as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Sherah on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.