Sherry
A French feminine name referring to a fortified wine from the region of Jerez, Spain.
Name Census estimates that about 171,865 living Americans carry the first name Sherry. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Sherry today is around 63 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Sherry births was 1962 (9,261 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Sherry. 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 Sherry with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Sherry is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 976 boys registered with the name since 1880.
- • Compared to the 1960s, recent registration numbers for Sherry have dropped to less than 5% of what they once were.
People living today
172K
~ 1 in 1,994 Americans
Peak year
1962
9,261 babies that year
Average age
63
years old
1991 SSA rank
#7,184
Tracked since 1909
Census
Sherry in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 187,601 people with the first name Sherry, which placed it at #297 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
#297
National first-name rank
People counted
188K
187,601 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
62.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
82.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sherry
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sherry is White at 82.7%. The next largest groups are Black (9.4%) and Two or More Races (3.0%). 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 Sherry 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 Sherry at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White82.7% · 155,067
- Black or African American9.4% · 17,628
- Two or more races3.0% · 5,720
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.2% · 4,110
- Hispanic or Latino1.8% · 3,361
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1,715
Gender
Gender distribution for Sherry
Out of the 230,889 babies given the name Sherry since 1880, 99.6% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Sherry as a male name
- Ranked #9,418 in 1991
- 5 male births in 1991
- Peak: 1962 (38 births)
Sherry as a female name
- Ranked #7,184 in 2024
- 16 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1962 (9,223 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Sherry appears almost entirely female. Of the 187,596 people counted with this name, 99.8% were female and only a very small share were male.
Popularity
Sherry: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Sherry from the 1900s through to the 2020s, spanning 13 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 77,777 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Sherry 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 Sherry during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Sherrys live
The SSA's state-level files cover 51 states and territories. Texas, California, Ohio recorded the most babies named Sherry, while Alaska, Nevada, Wyoming recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 4,453 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Sherry
The name Sherry has its origins in the English language, derived from the word "sherry," which is a type of fortified wine that originated in the Sherry region of Spain. The earliest recorded use of the name dates back to the late 19th century, when it started gaining popularity as a feminine given name, likely inspired by the wine's association with sophistication and elegance.
While the name does not have a direct historical or cultural significance beyond its connection to the wine, it has been borne by several notable individuals throughout history. One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Sherry was Sherry Marlowe, an American actress born in 1901, who appeared in numerous films during the 1920s and 1930s.
Another prominent figure was Sherry Lansing, an American film producer and former CEO of Paramount Pictures, born in 1944. Lansing was a pioneer in the film industry and played a significant role in the success of several major motion pictures during her tenure at Paramount.
In the literary world, Sherry Sontag was an American author and journalist, born in 1949, who wrote extensively on travel and cultural topics. Her work often explored the intersection of personal narratives and broader social issues.
Sherry Stringfield, born in 1967, is an American actress best known for her roles in the television series "ER" and "Guiding Light." Her portrayal of Dr. Susan Lewis in "ER" earned her critical acclaim and contributed to the show's widespread popularity.
In the realm of sports, Sherry Ross was an American track and field athlete, born in 1960, who specialized in the discus throw. She represented the United States in the 1984 and 1988 Olympic Games, winning a silver medal in the latter.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals who have borne the name Sherry throughout history, showcasing its enduring appeal and diverse representation across various fields and professions.
People
Sherry + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Sherry 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
Sherry: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sherry?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 171,865 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Sherry 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 1,994 US residents.
Is Sherry a common name?
We classify Sherry as "Common". It ranks above 99.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 230,889 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Sherry most popular?
The single biggest year for Sherry was 1962, when 9,261 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Sherry is about 63 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Sherry in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 187,601 people with the name Sherry, or 62.11 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #297 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 Sherry 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 Sherry?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Sherry appears almost entirely female. Of the 187,596 people counted with this name, 99.8% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Sherry?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sherry is White at 82.7%. The next largest groups are Black (9.4%) and Two or More Races (3.0%). 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 Sherry most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Sherry in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.7% (155,067 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 Sherry in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Sherry a female name?
Yes, 99.6% of people registered as Sherry 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 Sherry still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Sherry 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 Sherry 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 Sherry?
See how many people share the name Sherry on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.