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

Sharpnack, 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 Sharpnack surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Sharpnack in America

Sharpnack is the 47429th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Sharpnack surname appeared 447 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Sharpnack.

We can also compare 2010 data for Sharpnack 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 Sharpnack

The surname Sharpnack is believed to have originated in Germany, likely in the 16th or 17th century. It is thought to derive from the German words "scharf" meaning sharp or keen, and "nacken" meaning nape or neck, possibly referring to a person with a prominent or sharp neck. The name may also have connections to the German town of Scharnitz, though records are sparse.

One of the earliest known references to the name appears in a German church record from the village of Oberstdorf in Bavaria, dated 1612, which mentions a Hans Scharpnack. Another early mention is found in a land registry from the town of Wiesloch near Heidelberg in 1654, listing a Michael Scharpenack as a property owner.

The Sharpnack name began appearing in North America in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, as German immigrants settled in Pennsylvania and other colonies. One of the first recorded instances is Johannes Scharpnack, who arrived in Philadelphia in 1732 aboard the ship Britannia from Rotterdam.

Notable individuals with the surname Sharpnack throughout history include:

1. Heinrich Scharpnack (c. 1690-1758), a German-born blacksmith who settled in Berks County, Pennsylvania in the early 1700s.

2. Jacob Sharpnack (1765-1837), an American farmer and militiaman who served in the Revolutionary War.

3. Mathias Sharpnack (1792-1872), a Pennsylvania businessman and founder of the town of Sharpnackville, now part of Nazareth.

4. John P. Sharpnack (1820-1907), a Union Army veteran of the American Civil War and later a judge in Ohio.

5. Elmer Sharpnack (1876-1952), an American artist and illustrator known for his depictions of rural life in Pennsylvania.

While variations in spelling were common, such as Scharpnack, Scherpenock, and Scharpnecker, the name Sharpnack emerged as the predominant form in North America by the 19th century.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Sharpnack

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

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 Sharpnack 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 Sharpnack 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 Sharpnack was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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