2000
#1,155
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 27,862
First available Census row
Per 100,000 10.33
Uncommon Last name
Sharpe
A nickname-derived surname referring to a keen or quick-witted person, or someone with a pointed facial feature.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 32,410 Americans carry the last name Sharpe. That puts it at #1,224 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 9.46 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 10,576 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Sharpe 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 Sharpe with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
32K
1 in 10,576
Census rank
#1,224
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
9.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
28K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 28,263 bearers of the surname Sharpe in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 9.46 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1224th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Sharpe, the largest self-reported group is White at 68.2%. The next largest groups are Black (23.0%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Sharpe
The surname Sharpe originates from England and can be traced back to the 11th century. It is derived from the Old English word "scearp," which means sharp or keen-witted, and was likely initially given as a nickname to someone with those characteristics.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the Domesday Book of 1086, which lists a landowner named Willielmus Scharpe in Lincolnshire. This suggests that the name was already well-established in certain parts of England by the late 11th century.
During the Middle Ages, the name was found in various spellings, such as Sharpe, Scharpe, and Scharp, reflecting regional variations in pronunciation and spelling conventions of the time. The name was particularly prevalent in the counties of Yorkshire, Lancashire, and Lincolnshire, where many early records of the name can be found.
One notable figure bearing the surname Sharpe was Abraham Sharpe (1651-1742), an English mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the study of logarithms and the calculation of planetary orbits.
Another prominent individual was Granville Sharpe (1735-1813), an English abolitionist and philanthropist who played a crucial role in the campaign against the slave trade in Britain. His legal efforts resulted in the landmark Somerset case of 1772, which helped establish the principle that slavery was unsupportable in England.
In the literary realm, William Sharpe (1742-1818) was a British poet and writer who is best known for his work "The Life of Rev. James Baker, D.D.," a biography of a prominent Anglican clergyman.
Samuel Sharpe (1799-1881) was an English Egyptologist and translator who made significant contributions to the study of Egyptian hieroglyphics and the decipherment of ancient Egyptian texts.
The surname Sharpe has also been associated with several place names in England, such as Sharpe's Hill in Derbyshire and Sharpe's Cove in Cornwall, further highlighting its historical roots and geographical spread across the country.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sharpe
Among Census respondents with the surname Sharpe, the largest self-reported group is White at 68.2%. The next largest groups are Black (23.0%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Sharpe 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 Sharpe surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White68.2% · 19,262
- Black or African American23.0% · 6,513
- Two or more races4.2% · 1,190
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 995
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 201
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 102
Timeline
Historical Census data for Sharpe
Sharpe 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
#1,226
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 28,879
+1,017 bearers (+3.7%)
Per 100,000 9.79
Rank movement Down 71 places
2020
#1,224
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 28,263
-616 bearers (-2.1%)
Per 100,000 9.46
Rank movement Up 2 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,155 | 27,862 | 10.33 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,226 | 28,879 | 9.79 | +1,017 bearers (+3.7%) | Down 71 places |
| 2020 | #1,224 | 28,263 | 9.46 | -616 bearers (-2.1%) | Up 2 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 Sharpe 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 | #1,226 | #1,224 | 0.2% |
| Count | 28,879 | 28,263 | -2.1% |
| Per 100K | 9.79 | 9.46 | -3.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Sharpe bearers went from 28,879 to 28,263 (-2.1% change). The surname moved up 2 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,226 to #1,224.
FAQ
Sharpe surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Sharpe?
Name Census estimates that about 32,410 living Americans carry the surname Sharpe. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 10,576 residents.
How common is Sharpe?
Sharpe ranks #1,224 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 9.46 per 100,000 residents, which is about 9 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 28,263 people with the surname Sharpe. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (32,410), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 9.46 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 9.46 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 9 of them to have the surname Sharpe.
Has Sharpe become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Sharpe went from 28,879 recorded bearers to 28,263. That is a decrease of 616 (-2.1%). In the national ranking it rose from #1,226 to #1,224.
What does the Census say about the background of Sharpe?
Among Census respondents with the surname Sharpe, the largest self-reported group is White at 68.2%. The next largest groups are Black (23.0%) and Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Sharpe in the 2020 Census, accounting for 68.2% (19,262 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Sharpe appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (68.2%), Black (23.0%), Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Sharpe (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 Sharpe mean?
A nickname-derived surname referring to a keen or quick-witted person, or someone with a pointed facial feature. 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 Sharpe (9.46 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 are called Sharpe?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people are called Sharpe at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.