How Many People Are Named Sherman?
An estimated 20,012 people in the United States have the first name Sherman. It is predominantly male (99.5%). The average bearer is 60 years old, and Sherman peaked in popularity in 1951 with 644 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Sherman 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 Sherman paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Sherman is overwhelmingly male, 203 female births have been registered with this name since 1880.
Estimated Living Americans
20,012
About 1 in 17,127 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Uncommon
Predicted Gender
Male
99.5% confidence
Average Age
60
years old
Peak Year
1951
644 births
Total Registered
39,376
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Sherman
Sherman is almost exclusively a male name. Out of 39,376 total births registered, 99.5% were male.
Sherman as a male name
Ranked #4,840 in 2024
21 male births in 2024
Peak: 1950 (635 births)
Sherman as a female name
Ranked #12,962 in 1987
5 female births in 1987
Peak: 1959 (11 births)
Sherman: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Sherman span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1950s, when 5,851 babies were registered. Sherman has declined significantly from its peak in the 1950s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Sherman by Decade
How has Sherman 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.
| Decade | Total | Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 615 | 615 | 0 | |
| 1890s | 766 | 766 | 0 | |
| 1900s | 838 | 838 | 0 | |
| 1910s | 3,377 | 3,372 | 5 | |
| 1920s | 5,081 | 5,059 | 22 | |
| 1930s | 4,856 | 4,833 | 23 | |
| 1940s | 5,471 | 5,456 | 15 | |
| 1950s | 5,851 | 5,787 | 64 | |
| 1960s | 4,322 | 4,296 | 26 | |
| 1970s | 3,304 | 3,282 | 22 | |
| 1980s | 2,274 | 2,248 | 26 | |
| 1990s | 1,351 | 1,351 | 0 | |
| 2000s | 715 | 715 | 0 | |
| 2010s | 416 | 416 | 0 | |
| 2020s | 139 | 139 | 0 | |
Sherman by State
Birth registrations for Sherman span all 45 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in Texas, Illinois, Virginia. The lowest are in New Mexico, Hawaii, New Hampshire. On average, about 723 Shermans were registered per state.
Sherman + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Sherman as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Sherman
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
Sherman: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sherman?
We estimate approximately 20,012 people named Sherman 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 17,127 Americans share this first name.
Is Sherman a common name?
Sherman is classified as "Uncommon" and is more popular than 98.5% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 39,376 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Sherman most popular?
Sherman reached peak popularity in 1951, when 644 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Sherman is approximately 60 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Sherman a male name?
Sherman is predominantly male. 99.5% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Sherman Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Sherman Smith, Sherman Johnson, Sherman 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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