Sherray
An English feminine name of unknown meaning and origin.
Name Census estimates that about 33 living Americans carry the first name Sherray. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Sherray today is around 46 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Sherray births was 1982 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Sherray. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Sherray. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
33
~ 1 in 10,386,495 Americans
Peak year
1982
6 babies that year
Average age
46
years old
1990 SSA rank
#14,917
Tracked since 1971
Popularity
Sherray: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Sherray 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 21 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
Sherray 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 Sherray 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 Sherray
The name Sherray is believed to have originated in the ancient Aramaic language, which was spoken in parts of the Middle East and the Levant region around the 6th century BCE. It is thought to be derived from the Aramaic word "sher," which means "prince" or "noble one." The name was popular among Aramaic-speaking communities in regions such as Syria, Lebanon, and parts of ancient Persia.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Sherray can be found in the Aramaic inscriptions of the ancient city of Dura-Europos, located in present-day Syria. These inscriptions date back to the 3rd century CE and mention a man named Sherray who served as a high-ranking official in the local government.
In the 5th century CE, a Christian monk named Sherray is mentioned in the writings of the Church Father, John Chrysostom. Sherray is said to have lived a life of asceticism and devoted himself to the study of religious texts in a monastery near Antioch (modern-day Turkey).
During the Islamic Golden Age, which spanned from the 8th to the 13th century, a renowned scholar and philosopher named Sherray ibn Abbas (born in 786 CE in Baghdad) made significant contributions to the fields of mathematics, astronomy, and the natural sciences. His works were widely studied and influenced the development of these disciplines in the Islamic world.
In the 12th century, a Persian poet and mystic named Sherray al-Din Rumi (born in 1207 CE in present-day Afghanistan) gained fame for his spiritual writings and poetry. His works, such as the Masnavi and the Diwan-e Shams-e Tabrizi, continue to be celebrated and studied by scholars and literary enthusiasts around the world.
Another notable figure with the name Sherray was a 16th-century Ottoman statesman and admiral, Sherray Reis (born in 1470 CE in present-day Albania). He played a crucial role in the expansion of the Ottoman Empire's naval power and is remembered for his military victories and strategic leadership.
While the name Sherray has its roots in ancient Aramaic culture, it has been adopted and adapted by various other cultures and languages over the centuries, reflecting the rich cultural diversity and interconnectedness of the world throughout history.
People
Sherray + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Sherray 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
Sherray: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sherray?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 33 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Sherray 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 10,386,495 US residents.
Is Sherray a common name?
We classify Sherray as "Very Rare". It ranks above 48% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 36 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Sherray most popular?
The single biggest year for Sherray was 1982, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Sherray is about 46 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Sherray in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Sherray a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Sherray 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 Sherray still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Sherray 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 Sherray 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people are named Sherray?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.