Sherlee
A feminine name derived from a Scottish surname, possibly meaning "bright meadow".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Sherlee. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Sherlee today is around 74 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Sherlee births was 1926 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Sherlee. 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 Sherlee is about 74 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Sherlees were born before 1962.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Sherlee. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
1926
7 babies that year
Average age
74
years old
1951 SSA rank
#5,336
Tracked since 1926
Popularity
Sherlee: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Sherlee from the 1920s through to the 1950s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 13 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1920s peak, Sherlee remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Sherlee 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 Sherlee during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Sherlee
The name Sherlee is a variant of the name Shirley, which has its origins in the English language. The name Shirley is believed to have derived from the Old English words "scir" meaning "bright" and "leah" meaning "meadow" or "clearing." Therefore, the name Sherlee can be interpreted as "bright meadow" or "bright clearing."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Sherlee dates back to the 12th century in England, where it was used as a surname for someone who lived near a bright meadow or clearing. It wasn't until the 16th century that the name began to be used as a given name, primarily for females.
The name Sherlee gained popularity in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with several notable individuals bearing the name. One such person was Sherlee Matilda Hudson (1877-1952), an American educator and activist who played a significant role in the women's suffrage movement in California.
Another notable bearer of the name Sherlee was Sherlee Woodard (1915-2004), an American actress and singer who appeared in several Broadway productions and films during the 1940s and 1950s.
In the field of literature, Sherlee North (1909-1967) was an American author and poet who gained recognition for her works exploring themes of love, loss, and personal growth.
Sherlee Swopes (1933-2021) was an American businesswoman and philanthropist who co-founded the Swopes Brothers Truck Terminal in Missouri and was actively involved in various charitable organizations.
Lastly, Sherlee McArthur (born 1949) is a Canadian artist known for her vibrant abstract paintings and her contributions to the contemporary art scene in British Columbia.
While the name Sherlee may not be as common today as it once was, it holds a rich history and has been borne by notable individuals across various fields throughout the centuries.
People
Sherlee + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Sherlee 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
Sherlee: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sherlee?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Sherlee 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 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Sherlee a common name?
We classify Sherlee as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 24 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Sherlee most popular?
The single biggest year for Sherlee was 1926, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Sherlee is about 74 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Sherlee a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Sherlee 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.
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.