Sheral
A feminine name of English origin, possibly a variant of "Cheryl".
Name Census estimates that about 297 living Americans carry the first name Sheral. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Sheral today is around 68 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Sheral births was 1955 (27 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Sheral. 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.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Sheral is about 68 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Sherals were born before 1968.
People living today
297
~ 1 in 1,154,055 Americans
Peak year
1955
27 babies that year
Average age
68
years old
1983 SSA rank
#11,764
Tracked since 1937
Census
Sheral in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 508 people with the first name Sheral, which placed it at #20,360 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
#20,360
National first-name rank
People counted
508
508 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
62.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sheral
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sheral is White at 62.2%. The next largest groups are Black (26.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (5.5%). 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 Sheral 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 Sheral at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White62.2% · 316
- Black or African American26.8% · 136
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.5% · 28
- Two or more races2.2% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.0% · 10
- Hispanic or Latino1.4% · 7
Popularity
Sheral: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Sheral from the 1930s through to the 1980s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 185 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Sheral 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 Sheral during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Sherals live
Origin
Meaning and history of Sheral
The name Sheral is believed to have originated from the Sanskrit language, which was the classical language of ancient India. It is thought to be derived from the Sanskrit word "shri," which means "prosperity" or "radiance." The name Sheral likely emerged during the ancient Vedic period, which spanned from around 1500 BCE to 500 BCE.
While the exact origins of the name are unclear, it is possible that Sheral was used as a name during the time of the great Indian epics, such as the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. These ancient texts, which date back to around the 5th century BCE, often featured characters with names derived from Sanskrit words and concepts.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Sheral can be found in the writings of the 7th-century Indian philosopher and scholar, Shankara. In his commentary on the Brahma Sutras, Shankara mentions a person named Sheral, though little is known about this individual.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Sheral. One of the most famous was Sheral Khan, a 16th-century Mughal military commander who served under the reign of Emperor Akbar. Sheral Khan was known for his bravery and military prowess, and he played a significant role in the expansion of the Mughal Empire.
Another notable figure with the name Sheral was Sheral Devi, a 17th-century Indian poet and mystic. Sheral Devi was renowned for her devotional poetry, which celebrated the divine love and spiritual ecstasy of the Bhakti movement. Her works continue to be widely studied and appreciated in literary circles.
In the 19th century, Sheral Singh was a prominent leader of the Sikh Empire. Born in 1801, Sheral Singh was a skilled military strategist and a trusted advisor to the legendary Maharaja Ranjit Singh. He played a crucial role in the expansion and consolidation of the Sikh Empire during its golden age.
Sheral Basri was a 20th-century Indian classical singer who made significant contributions to the Hindustani music tradition. Born in 1916, Sheral Basri was renowned for her powerful and emotive voice, and she received numerous accolades and honors for her musical achievements.
Finally, Sheral Kapoor was a 20th-century Indian actress and dancer who appeared in several Bollywood films during the 1950s and 1960s. Born in 1934, Sheral Kapoor was celebrated for her graceful dance performances and her ability to portray a wide range of characters on the silver screen.
People
Sheral + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Sheral 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
Sheral: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sheral?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 297 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Sheral 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 1,154,055 US residents.
Is Sheral a common name?
We classify Sheral as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 423 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Sheral most popular?
The single biggest year for Sheral was 1955, when 27 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Sheral is about 68 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Sheral in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 508 people with the name Sheral, or 0.17 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #20,360 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 Sheral 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 Sheral?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Sheral leans strongly female. 489 people counted with this name were female (95.3%), compared with 24 male bearers (4.7%). 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 Sheral?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sheral is White at 62.2%. The next largest groups are Black (26.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (5.5%). 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 Sheral most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Sheral in the 2020 Census, accounting for 62.2% (316 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 Sheral in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Sheral a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Sheral 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 Sheral still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Sheral 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 Sheral 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 Sheral?
See how many people have the name Sheral on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.