Sherrell
A feminine name of English origin referring to a dweller near a bright stream.
Name Census estimates that about 2,495 living Americans carry the first name Sherrell. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 86.4% of registrations being female. The average person named Sherrell today is around 52 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Sherrell births was 1989 (86 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Sherrell. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Sherrell with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
2.5K
~ 1 in 137,376 Americans
Peak year
1989
86 babies that year
Average age
52
years old
1983 SSA rank
#7,178
Tracked since 1914
Census
Sherrell in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,395 people with the first name Sherrell, which placed it at #6,640 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
#6,640
National first-name rank
People counted
2.4K
2,395 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.8
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
61.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sherrell
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sherrell is Black at 61.9%. The next largest groups are White (30.9%) and Two or More Races (3.7%). 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 Sherrell 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 Sherrell at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American61.9% · 1,483
- White30.9% · 741
- Two or more races3.7% · 89
- Hispanic or Latino1.8% · 43
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 28
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 11
Gender
Gender distribution for Sherrell
Sherrell leans heavily female at 86.4% of total registrations, but 439 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Sherrell as a male name
- Ranked #7,178 in 1983
- 5 male births in 1983
- Peak: 1947 (20 births)
Sherrell as a female name
- Ranked #13,893 in 2017
- 7 female births in 2017
- Peak: 1989 (86 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Sherrell leans strongly female. 2,141 people counted with this name were female (89.5%), compared with 252 male bearers (10.5%).
Popularity
Sherrell: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Sherrell from the 1910s through to the 2010s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 671 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
Sherrell 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 Sherrell during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Sherrells live
The SSA's state-level files cover 18 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Sherrell, while Tennessee, District of Columbia, Ohio recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 37 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Sherrell
The given name Sherrell is a relatively uncommon and intriguing one, with its origins shrouded in mystery and speculation. Some scholars trace its roots to the Old English word "scir," which means "bright" or "shining." Others believe it to be a portmanteau of the names "Sheridan" and "Terrell," both of which have Irish and English origins.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Sherrell can be found in the Parish Registers of St. Mary's Church in Warwick, England, dating back to the late 16th century. Here, a Sherrell Browne was christened in 1587, suggesting that the name had already gained a foothold in the region by that time.
Throughout the centuries, several notable individuals have borne the name Sherrell. One of the most prominent was Sherrell Biggers (1886-1954), an American civil rights activist and lawyer who played a pivotal role in the desegregation of public schools in Washington, D.C. Another figure of historical significance was Sherrell Lanier (1901-1993), an American artist and sculptor who gained acclaim for her works depicting Native American themes.
In the realm of literature, one cannot overlook the contribution of Sherrell Culver (1922-2008), an American author and playwright whose works explored themes of identity, family, and community. Her play "The Sutter's Wife" was a critically acclaimed production that garnered widespread recognition.
Moving into the realm of sports, Sherrell Miller (1961-2016) was a talented American basketball player who enjoyed a successful career in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), playing for teams such as the Detroit Shock and the Houston Comets.
Finally, it would be remiss not to mention Sherrell Dillon (1967-present), a renowned American fashion designer and entrepreneur whose eponymous clothing line has gained a loyal following for its classic yet contemporary aesthetic.
While the name Sherrell may not be as widely recognized as some other names, it carries a rich tapestry of history and cultural significance. From civil rights activists to artists, authors, and athletes, individuals bearing this name have left an indelible mark on various facets of society, making it a moniker worthy of recognition and appreciation.
People
Sherrell + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Sherrell 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
Sherrell: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sherrell?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,495 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Sherrell 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 137,376 US residents.
Is Sherrell a common name?
We classify Sherrell as "Rare". It ranks above 94.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,221 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Sherrell most popular?
The single biggest year for Sherrell was 1989, when 86 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Sherrell is about 52 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Sherrell in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,395 people with the name Sherrell, or 0.79 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #6,640 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 Sherrell 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 Sherrell?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Sherrell leans strongly female. 2,141 people counted with this name were female (89.5%), compared with 252 male bearers (10.5%). 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 Sherrell?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sherrell is Black at 61.9%. The next largest groups are White (30.9%) and Two or More Races (3.7%). 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 Sherrell most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Sherrell in the 2020 Census, accounting for 61.9% (1,483 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 Sherrell in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Sherrell a female name?
Yes, 86.4% of people registered as Sherrell 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 Sherrell still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Sherrell 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 Sherrell 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 Sherrell as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the name Sherrell on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.