2000
#22,612
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,061
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.39
Rare Last name
Sherk
A surname derived from the Middle English word "sherk", meaning to jeer or mock.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,061 Americans carry the last name Sherk. That puts it at #27,591 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.31 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 323,048 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Sherk 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
1.1K
1 in 323,048
Census rank
#27,591
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
925
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 925 bearers of the surname Sherk in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.31 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 27591st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Sherk, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.7%) and Hispanic (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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 In the following centuries, variations of the spelling, such as Schirck, Schirke, and Schierke, appeared in various historical documents across different regions of Germany.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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sherk
Among Census respondents with the surname Sherk, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.7%) and Hispanic (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Sherk 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 Sherk surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.9% · 841
- Two or more races3.7% · 34
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 25
- Black or African American1.6% · 15
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Sherk
Sherk appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#17,202
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,646
+585 bearers (+55.1%)
Per 100,000 0.56
Rank movement Up 5,410 places
2020
#27,591
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 925
-721 bearers (-43.8%)
Per 100,000 0.31
Rank movement Down 10,389 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #22,612 | 1,061 | 0.39 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #17,202 | 1,646 | 0.56 | +585 bearers (+55.1%) | Up 5,410 places |
| 2020 | #27,591 | 925 | 0.31 | -721 bearers (-43.8%) | Down 10,389 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 Sherk 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 | #17,202 | #27,591 | -60.4% |
| Count | 1,646 | 925 | -43.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.56 | 0.31 | -44.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Sherk bearers went from 1,646 to 925 (-43.8% change). The surname moved down 10,389 positions in the national ranking, going from #17,202 to #27,591.
FAQ
Sherk surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Sherk?
Name Census estimates that about 1,061 living Americans carry the surname Sherk. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 323,048 residents.
How common is Sherk?
Sherk ranks #27,591 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.31 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 925 people with the surname Sherk. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,061), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.31 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.31 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 Sherk.
Has Sherk become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Sherk went from 1,646 recorded bearers to 925. That is a decrease of 721 (-43.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #17,202 to #27,591.
What does the Census say about the background of Sherk?
Among Census respondents with the surname Sherk, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.7%) and Hispanic (2.7%). 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 Sherk in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.9% (841 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Sherk appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.9%), Two or More Races (3.7%), Hispanic (2.7%). 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 Sherk (2000, 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 Sherk mean?
A surname derived from the Middle English word "sherk", meaning to jeer or mock. 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 Sherk (0.31 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 common is the surname Sherk?
Want to know how many people have the surname Sherk? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.