Find out how popular the last name Sharpe is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Sharpe.

Sharpe, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Sharpe surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Sharpe in America

Sharpe is the 1226th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Sharpe surname appeared 28,879 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 10 people would have the surname Sharpe.

We can also compare 2010 data for Sharpe to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name 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.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Sharpe

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Sharpe.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Sharpe was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Sharpe has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Sharpe was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Sharpe, please contact us.

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