2000
#20,800
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,180
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.44
Rare Last name
Sharman
An occupational surname derived from the term for a performer of shamanic rituals or spiritual practices.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,501 Americans carry the last name Sharman. That puts it at #20,495 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.44 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 228,351 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Sharman surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Sharman with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
1.5K
1 in 228,351
Census rank
#20,495
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,309 bearers of the surname Sharman in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.44 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 20495th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Sharman, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.1%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (4.5%) and Two or More Races (3.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Sharman
The surname Sharman is of English origin, deriving from the Old English word "scir" meaning "bright" or "shining" and "mann" meaning "man". It is believed to have originated in the medieval period, around the 12th or 13th century.
The name is thought to have first appeared in the counties of Norfolk and Suffolk in East Anglia, where it was initially used as a descriptive surname for individuals with a bright or radiant appearance or personality. The earliest recorded instance of the surname dates back to the 13th century, when a William Sharman was mentioned in the Hundred Rolls of Norfolk in 1273.
In the 14th century, the name appears in various historical records, including the Subsidy Rolls of Suffolk in 1327, where a John Sharman is listed. The Sharman family is also mentioned in the Visitation of Essex in 1612, indicating their presence in the county.
One of the earliest notable figures bearing the surname was Sir Ralph Sharman, a merchant and Member of Parliament for Norwich in the 16th century, who lived from around 1520 to 1580. Another prominent individual was Richard Sharman, a 17th-century English clergyman and academic who served as the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford from 1662 to 1663.
In the 18th century, the Sharman family had a presence in Yorkshire, with William Sharman (1704-1771) being a notable figure who served as the Mayor of Leeds in 1757. The name also appeared in other parts of England, such as Warwickshire, where John Sharman (1729-1810) was a prominent landowner and farmer.
Moving into the 19th century, one of the most famous individuals with the surname was Henry Burton Sharman (1828-1893), a British civil engineer and railway contractor who was instrumental in the construction of several major rail lines in India during the British Raj.
Throughout history, the Sharman surname has been recorded with various spellings, including Shearman, Shurman, and Schurman, reflecting the influence of local dialects and regional variations in pronunciation and spelling.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sharman
Among Census respondents with the surname Sharman, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.1%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (4.5%) and Two or More Races (3.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Sharman bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Sharman surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.1% · 1,127
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.5% · 59
- Two or more races3.8% · 50
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 46
- Black or African American1.7% · 22
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Sharman
Sharman appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#22,481
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,144
-36 bearers (-3.1%)
Per 100,000 0.39
Rank movement Down 1,681 places
2020
#20,495
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,309
+165 bearers (+14.4%)
Per 100,000 0.44
Rank movement Up 1,986 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #20,800 | 1,180 | 0.44 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #22,481 | 1,144 | 0.39 | -36 bearers (-3.1%) | Down 1,681 places |
| 2020 | #20,495 | 1,309 | 0.44 | +165 bearers (+14.4%) | Up 1,986 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Sharman surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #22,481 | #20,495 | 8.8% |
| Count | 1,144 | 1,309 | 14.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.39 | 0.44 | 12.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Sharman bearers went from 1,144 to 1,309 (+14.4% change). The surname moved up 1,986 positions in the national ranking, going from #22,481 to #20,495.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Sharman
FAQ
Sharman surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Sharman?
Name Census estimates that about 1,501 living Americans carry the surname Sharman. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 228,351 residents.
How common is Sharman?
Sharman ranks #20,495 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.44 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,309 people with the surname Sharman. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,501), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.44 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.44 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Sharman.
Has Sharman become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Sharman went from 1,144 recorded bearers to 1,309. That is an increase of 165 (+14.4%). In the national ranking it rose from #22,481 to #20,495.
What does the Census say about the background of Sharman?
Among Census respondents with the surname Sharman, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.1%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (4.5%) and Two or More Races (3.8%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Sharman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.1% (1,127 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Sharman appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.1%), Asian/Pacific Islander (4.5%), Two or More Races (3.8%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Sharman (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Sharman mean?
An occupational surname derived from the term for a performer of shamanic rituals or spiritual practices. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Sharman (0.44 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people share the surname Sharman?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.