The Cherif surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 341 people carried this name — #59,324 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 833,300 people counted. That is up 96% from 174 in 2000.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 530 people named Cherif.
Most of them — 369 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 35 départements, most often Paris.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Belgium’s population register
At least 377 people named Cherif live in Belgium.
Statbel only publishes a name in a municipality when five or more people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Brussels-Capital.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
189 people named Cherif live in Switzerland.
They live in 12 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Geneva.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 20 people named Cherif live in Argentina.
RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in City of Buenos Aires.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In print
Cherif in American newspapers,
1881–1929.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 1,439 pages in all carry the name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Cherif.
- Cheney 13,573 · U.S. census
- Cheng 32,982 · U.S. census
- Chenier 1,277 · U.S. census
- Chenot 321 · U.S. census
- Cher 251 · U.S. census
- Cheri 236 · U.S. census
- Cherin 186 · U.S. census
- Cheron 186 · U.S. census
- Cherrier 361 · U.S. census
- Cherubin 779 · U.S. census
- Cherubini 452 · U.S. census
- Chervin 160 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Cherif is.
A volume says what happened to it.
Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.