2010
#152,628
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 107
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Sherden
Germanic surname meaning "person from Sheridan" or "scorched valley".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 117 Americans carry the last name Sherden. That puts it at #154,755 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,929,524 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Sherden 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
117
1 in 2,929,524
Census rank
#154,755
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
102
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 102 bearers of the surname Sherden in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 154755th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Sherden, the largest self-reported group is White at 48.0%. The next largest groups are Black (42.2%) and Hispanic (3.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Sherden
The surname "SHERDEN" is believed to have originated in ancient Egypt, deriving from the name of the Sea Peoples known as the Sherden. These were a group of seafaring raiders who began to appear in the Mediterranean region around the 16th century BC.
The Sherden were known to have come from the area around modern-day Sardinia and Corsica, and their name is thought to be related to the ancient Lemnian language spoken in the Aegean Sea region. The earliest known references to the Sherden appear in Egyptian hieroglyphic inscriptions from the reigns of Ramesses II and Merneptah in the 13th century BC.
During the Bronze Age, the Sherden were part of the coalition of Sea Peoples who attempted to invade and conquer various regions of the ancient Near East, including Egypt. They are mentioned in several ancient Egyptian texts, such as the Great Karnak Inscription of Merneptah, which describes battles against the Sea Peoples.
While the Sherden were initially seen as a threat, some were eventually integrated into Egyptian society and served as mercenary soldiers in the Egyptian army. This may have led to the adoption of "Sherden" as a surname by some individuals or families with connections to these ancient warriors.
One of the earliest known individuals with the surname "Sherden" was Ramesses, a high-ranking Egyptian military officer who lived during the reign of Ramesses III in the 12th century BC. He is mentioned in the Great Harris Papyrus, which details his role in defeating the Sea Peoples' invasion of Egypt.
Another notable figure was Amenhotep Sherden, a renowned Egyptian architect and engineer who oversaw the construction of several monuments and temples during the 18th Dynasty, around 1500 BC. His name is inscribed on various building projects from that era.
In the 13th century AD, there are records of a Crusader knight named Sir Robert Sherden, who participated in the Fifth Crusade and the siege of Damietta in Egypt in 1219. He is mentioned in several chronicles from that period, including the "Itinerarium Peregrinorum et Gesta Regis Ricardi" by Richard of Devizes.
During the Renaissance, there was an Italian painter and architect named Girolamo Sherden, who was active in the late 15th and early 16th centuries. He is known for his work on several churches and palaces in Rome and Naples, and his name appears in various historical documents from that time.
In the 19th century, there was a British explorer and adventurer named Captain James Sherden, who was involved in various expeditions to Africa and the Middle East. He published several books about his travels, including "Travels in the Soudan" and "Adventures in the Desert of Sahara."
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sherden
Among Census respondents with the surname Sherden, the largest self-reported group is White at 48.0%. The next largest groups are Black (42.2%) and Hispanic (3.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Sherden 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 Sherden surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White48.0% · 49
- Black or African American42.2% · 43
- Hispanic or Latino3.9% · 4
- Two or more races3.9% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.0% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Sherden
Sherden 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
#154,755
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 102
-5 bearers (-4.7%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 2,127 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 | #154,755 | 102 | 0.03 | -5 bearers (-4.7%) | Down 2,127 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 Sherden 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 | #154,755 | -1.4% |
| Count | 107 | 102 | -4.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -14.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Sherden bearers went from 107 to 102 (-4.7% change). The surname moved down 2,127 positions in the national ranking, going from #152,628 to #154,755.
FAQ
Sherden surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Sherden?
Name Census estimates that about 117 living Americans carry the surname Sherden. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,929,524 residents.
How common is Sherden?
Sherden ranks #154,755 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 102 people with the surname Sherden. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (117), 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 Sherden.
Has Sherden become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Sherden went from 107 recorded bearers to 102. That is a decrease of 5 (-4.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #152,628 to #154,755.
What does the Census say about the background of Sherden?
Among Census respondents with the surname Sherden, the largest self-reported group is White at 48.0%. The next largest groups are Black (42.2%) and Hispanic (3.9%). 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 Sherden in the 2020 Census, accounting for 48.0% (49 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Sherden appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (48.0%), Black (42.2%), Hispanic (3.9%). 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 Sherden (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 Sherden mean?
Germanic surname meaning "person from Sheridan" or "scorched valley". 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 Sherden (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 are called Sherden?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the last name Sherden on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.