How Many People Are Named Cheryl?
An estimated 323,822 people in the United States have the first name Cheryl. While not in the top 50, it remains a well-known name ranking #149 overall. It is almost exclusively a female name. The average bearer is 65 years old, and Cheryl peaked in popularity in 1958 with 24,177 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Cheryl as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Cheryl paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Cheryl is overwhelmingly female, 978 male births have been registered with this name since 1880.
- Cheryl has fallen dramatically from its peak in the 1950s. Recent registrations are less than 5% of what they were at the name's height.
Estimated Living Americans
323,822
About 1 in 1,058 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Common
Predicted Gender
Female
99.8% confidence
Average Age
65
years old
Peak Year
1958
24,177 births
Total Registered
440,480
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Cheryl
Cheryl is almost exclusively a female name. Out of 440,480 total births registered, 99.8% were female.
Cheryl as a male name
Ranked #6,520 in 1990
7 male births in 1990
Peak: 1958 (59 births)
Cheryl as a female name
Ranked #3,970 in 2024
37 female births in 2024
Peak: 1958 (24,118 births)
Cheryl: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Cheryl span from the 1900s to the 2020s, covering 13 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1950s, when 171,682 babies were registered. Cheryl has declined significantly from its peak in the 1950s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Cheryl by Decade
How has Cheryl tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
Cheryl by State
Birth registrations for Cheryl span all 51 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in California, New York, Ohio. The lowest are in Nevada, Alaska, Wyoming. On average, about 8,568 Cheryls were registered per state.
Cheryl + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Cheryl as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Cheryl
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
Cheryl: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Cheryl?
We estimate approximately 323,822 people named Cheryl are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 1,058 Americans share this first name.
Is Cheryl a common name?
Cheryl is classified as "Common" and is more popular than 99.9% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 440,480 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Cheryl most popular?
Cheryl reached peak popularity in 1958, when 24,177 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Cheryl is approximately 65 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Cheryl a female name?
Cheryl is predominantly female. 99.8% of people with this name are female. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Cheryl Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Cheryl Smith, Cheryl Johnson, Cheryl Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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