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

Sherk, 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 Sherk surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Sherk in America

Sherk is the 17202nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Sherk surname appeared 1,646 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Sherk.

We can also compare 2010 data for Sherk 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 Sherk

The surname SHERK originated in Germany and dates back to the early 13th century. It is believed to have derived from the German word "schierke," which referred to a type of coarse cloth made from a mixture of linen and wool. This suggests that the name may have initially been an occupational surname for someone who worked with this type of fabric.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name SHERK can be found in the town records of Cologne, where a certain Henricus Schirke was mentioned in 1287. In the following centuries, variations of the spelling, such as Schirck, Schirke, and Schierke, appeared in various historical documents across different regions of Germany.

The name SHERK can also be traced back to the village of Schierke, located in the Harz Mountains of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is possible that some individuals bearing this surname may have originally hailed from this area or had ancestors who resided there.

In the 16th century, a notable figure with the surname SHERK was Johann Schirck, a German theologian and philosopher who lived from 1520 to 1586. He was a prominent figure during the Protestant Reformation and wrote several works on religious subjects.

Another individual of historical significance was Gottfried Schierke, a German artist and engraver who was born in 1648 and died in 1721. His works, which included portraits and religious scenes, were highly regarded during his lifetime.

In the 18th century, a family by the name of Schierke is recorded as having settled in the town of Zittau, in the eastern part of Germany, near the border with Poland. This branch of the family may have contributed to the spread of the surname to other parts of Europe.

One of the most notable individuals with the surname SHERK was Carl Schirck, a German-American painter and educator who lived from 1858 to 1944. He was known for his landscape paintings and taught at several prestigious art schools in the United States.

The surname SHERK has also been present in other parts of the world due to immigration. For instance, in the 19th century, a family named Schirck emigrated from Germany to South Africa, where their descendants carried on the name.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Sherk

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

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

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

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