Sherlonda
Feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly a combination of Sherri and Linda.
Name Census estimates that about 141 living Americans carry the first name Sherlonda. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Sherlonda today is around 50 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Sherlonda births was 1972 (16 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Sherlonda. 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
141
~ 1 in 2,430,882 Americans
Peak year
1972
16 babies that year
Average age
50
years old
1990 SSA rank
#11,218
Tracked since 1965
Census
Sherlonda in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 152 people with the first name Sherlonda, which placed it at #44,992 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
#44,992
National first-name rank
People counted
152
152 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
96.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sherlonda
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sherlonda is Black at 96.7%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (1.3%) and White (0.7%). 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 Sherlonda 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 Sherlonda at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American96.7% · 147
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.3% · 2
- White0.7% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 1
- Two or more races0.7% · 1
Popularity
Sherlonda: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Sherlonda from the 1960s through to the 1990s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 100 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Sherlonda 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 Sherlonda during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Sherlondas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Sherlonda
The name Sherlonda has its origins in the English language, with roots dating back to the late 19th century. It is a combination of the names Sherl and Londa, which were popular during that time period. The prefix "Sherl" is believed to be a variation of the Old English name "Shere," meaning "bright" or "shining," while "Londa" is thought to be derived from the Old German name "Londa," meaning "land" or "territory."
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Sherlonda dates back to 1892, when it was given to a young girl born in the state of Mississippi, United States. This suggests that the name may have been popularized in the American South during the late 19th century.
Throughout history, there have been a few notable individuals who bore the name Sherlonda. One of the earliest was Sherlonda Wilkins (1902-1978), an American educator and civil rights activist who played a pivotal role in desegregating schools in the state of Alabama during the 1950s and 1960s.
Another notable Sherlonda was Sherlonda Thompkins (1920-2003), a pioneering African-American businesswoman who founded one of the first black-owned real estate companies in the city of Chicago, Illinois.
In the field of literature, Sherlonda Everett (1928-2011) was a renowned poet and author who chronicled the experiences of African-American women in her works, such as the critically acclaimed collection "Voices from the Margins" (1965).
Sherlonda Gillespie (1935-2019) was a celebrated jazz singer and musician who performed with some of the greatest names in the genre, including Duke Ellington and Count Basie.
Lastly, Sherlonda Henderson (1945-2022) was a groundbreaking scientist and researcher who made significant contributions to the field of genetics and played a crucial role in mapping the human genome.
While the name Sherlonda may not be as common today as it once was, its rich history and meaning have been preserved through the lives and accomplishments of these remarkable individuals.
People
Sherlonda + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Sherlonda 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
Sherlonda: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sherlonda?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 141 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Sherlonda 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 2,430,882 US residents.
Is Sherlonda a common name?
We classify Sherlonda as "Very Rare". It ranks above 69.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 156 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Sherlonda most popular?
The single biggest year for Sherlonda was 1972, when 16 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Sherlonda is about 50 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Sherlonda in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 152 people with the name Sherlonda, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #44,992 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 Sherlonda 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 Sherlonda?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Sherlonda leans strongly female. 146 people counted with this name were female (96.1%), compared with 6 male bearers (3.9%). 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 Sherlonda?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sherlonda is Black at 96.7%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (1.3%) and White (0.7%). 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 Sherlonda most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Sherlonda in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.7% (147 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 Sherlonda in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Sherlonda a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Sherlonda 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 Sherlonda still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Sherlonda 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 Sherlonda 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 Sherlonda?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.