How common is the surname Sharp?

78,990 people in the United States had the surname Sharp in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 3,909 Americans. It ranked 405th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Sharp?

Phillip Sharp, American biologist, followed by Gene Sharp.

Where is the surname Sharp most common?

Wikidata records people named Sharp in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia and 2 other countries.

Is the surname Sharp getting more or less common?

More common. 76,868 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 78,990 in 2010, up 2.8%.

The surname Sharp

A surname, carried by 78,990 people in the United States.

1 syllable Soundex S610

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Sharp is more common than 99.8% of them.

Origin

* As an English, Scottish and occasionally Irish (translated from géar) surname, from the adjective sharp. * As a German surname, Americanized from scharf (“sharp”), same meaning as above.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 78,990 people named Sharp in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 3,909 Americans. That is up 2.8% since 2000, when the Census counted 76,868.

#405

rank among US surnames

78,990

people in 2010

per 100,000 Americans

+2.8%

change since 2000 (was #371)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#396	Daniel	80,526	3,834
#397	Simon	80,460	3,837
#398	Velasquez	80,364	3,842
#399	Hardy	80,252	3,847
#400	Higgins	79,803	3,869
#401	Aguirre	79,517	3,883
#402	Lin	79,508	3,883

Who is named Sharp

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

84% of people named Sharp identified as white (not Hispanic), 11% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.3% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 84%
Black (not Hispanic) 11%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.3%
Two or more races 1.9%
American Indian and Alaska Native 1.0%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.6%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Sharps

24 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Phillip Sharp
American biologist, born 1944
Gene Sharp
American political scientist (1928-2018)
Hap Sharp
American racing driver, 1928–1993
Lesley Sharp
British actress, born 1960
Keesha Sharp
American actress, born 1973
Doug Sharp
American bobsledder, born 1969
Scott Sharp
American racing driver, born 1968
Matt Sharp
American musician (born 1969)
Dee Dee Sharp
American R&B singer, born 1945
Don Sharp
Australian-British film director, 1921–2011
Kevin Sharp
American country music singer, author, and motivational speaker, 1970–2014
Derrick Sharp
American-Israeli basketball player, born 1971

Notable Sharps come mostly from the United States (18), the United Kingdom (2) and Australia (2).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Variant spellings

Sharpe

Surnames that sound like Sharp

Sharp has the Soundex code S610, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code S610.

Questions

Where does the surname Sharp come from?: * As an English, Scottish and occasionally Irish (translated from géar) surname, from the adjective sharp. * As a German surname, Americanized from scharf (“sharp”), same meaning as above.
How common is the surname Sharp?: 78,990 people in the United States had the surname Sharp in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 3,909 Americans. It ranked 405th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Sharp?: In the 2010 Census, 84% of people named Sharp identified as white (not Hispanic), and 11% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Sharp?: Phillip Sharp, American biologist, followed by Gene Sharp.
Where is the surname Sharp most common?: Wikidata records people named Sharp in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia and 2 other countries.
Is the surname Sharp getting more or less common?: More common. 76,868 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 78,990 in 2010, up 2.8%.
What are other spellings of Sharp?: Sharpe.