2010
#152,628
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 107
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Sharrai
A surname with potential Arabic origins, possibly referring to a merchant or traveler.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 116 Americans carry the last name Sharrai. That puts it at #155,270 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,954,779 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Sharrai 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.
Bearers in the US
116
1 in 2,954,779
Census rank
#155,270
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
101
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 101 bearers of the surname Sharrai in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 155270th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Sharrai, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.9%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (2.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Sharrai
The surname SHARRAI is believed to have originated in the region of ancient Mesopotamia, now modern-day Iraq, during the early Islamic period around the 7th century AD. It is derived from the Arabic word "sharr," which means "evil" or "harm," and was likely used as a descriptive name for someone with a fierce or intimidating demeanor.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the SHARRAI name can be found in a manuscript from the Abbasid Caliphate, dated around 850 AD, which mentions a scholar named Abu Bakr al-Sharrai. This suggests that the name was already well-established in the region by that time.
In the 11th century, the SHARRAI name appeared in several historical records from the Seljuk Empire, particularly in the regions of modern-day Iran and Turkey. A notable figure was Amir Sharrai, a military commander who fought against the Crusaders during the First Crusade in the late 11th century.
As the Islamic empires expanded, the SHARRAI name spread to other parts of the Middle East and North Africa. In the 13th century, there are records of a Sufi mystic named Ibn al-Sharrai from Cairo, Egypt, who wrote influential works on Islamic spirituality.
During the Ottoman Empire period, the SHARRAI name was found among Turkish and Arab communities in various parts of the empire. One prominent figure was Ali Sharrai, a renowned scholar and poet who lived in Istanbul in the 16th century.
In the 18th century, the SHARRAI name appeared in historical records from the Persian Gulf region, particularly in the territories that now make up the United Arab Emirates and Oman. A notable figure from this time was Rashid bin Sharrai, a pearl merchant and navigator who was involved in the region's maritime trade.
Throughout history, the SHARRAI name has also been associated with various place names and locations, such as the village of Sharrai in modern-day Iraq, and the Jabal Sharrai mountains in Saudi Arabia. These place names likely derived from individuals or families with the SHARRAI surname who settled or lived in those areas.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sharrai
Among Census respondents with the surname Sharrai, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.9%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (2.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Sharrai 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 Sharrai surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.1% · 92
- Two or more races5.9% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.0% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Sharrai
Sharrai appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#155,270
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 101
-6 bearers (-5.6%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 2,642 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #152,628 | 107 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #155,270 | 101 | 0.03 | -6 bearers (-5.6%) | Down 2,642 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 Sharrai 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 | #152,628 | #155,270 | -1.7% |
| Count | 107 | 101 | -5.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -15.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Sharrai bearers went from 107 to 101 (-5.6% change). The surname moved down 2,642 positions in the national ranking, going from #152,628 to #155,270.
FAQ
Sharrai surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Sharrai?
Name Census estimates that about 116 living Americans carry the surname Sharrai. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,954,779 residents.
How common is Sharrai?
Sharrai ranks #155,270 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 101 people with the surname Sharrai. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (116), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Sharrai.
Has Sharrai become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Sharrai went from 107 recorded bearers to 101. That is a decrease of 6 (-5.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #152,628 to #155,270.
What does the Census say about the background of Sharrai?
Among Census respondents with the surname Sharrai, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.9%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (2.0%). 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 Sharrai in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.1% (92 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Sharrai appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.1%), Two or More Races (5.9%), American Indian/Alaska Native (2.0%). 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 Sharrai (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 Sharrai mean?
A surname with potential Arabic origins, possibly referring to a merchant or traveler. 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 Sharrai (0.03 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 have the surname Sharrai?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.