The Sharp surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 78,990 people carried this name — #405 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 3,730 people counted. That is up 3% from 76,868 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Sharp surname

As an English, Scottish and occasionally Irish (translated from géar) surname, from the adjective sharp.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Sharp» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a nickname: ‘the sharp’.

An early record he cites: Alexander Scharp, Buckinghamshire, 1273 — Hundred Rolls.

His entry covers Sharp and Sharpe.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 681 · public domain.

In Switzerland’s population statistics

75 people named Sharp live in Switzerland.

They live in 8 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Zurich 21
Vaud 16
Geneva 12
Zug 8
Aargau 6
Bern 5
Appenzell Ausserrhoden 4
Thurgau 3

Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.

In France’s civil register

France’s register of deaths holds 40 people named Sharp.

Most of them — 35 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 3 départements, most often Pas-de-Calais.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born

Born outside France 35
Pas-de-Calais 2
Paris 2
Seine-Saint-Denis 1

Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.

In the Nordic population registers

97 people named Sharp are counted in Sweden and Finland.

Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published. Finland counts its citizens, at home or abroad.

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 66
Finland (2026) 31

Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown) · Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV), Finland, surname statistics, August 2026 — CC BY 4.0.

Among the farmers of England and Wales, 1880s

Sharp was found among the farmers of 14 counties.

It was most frequent in Lincolnshire: 53 in every 10,000 farmers there — about 1 in 189. Guppy counted the farmers listed in each county’s directory and recorded a name only where it reached about 7 in every 10,000; where it does not appear, it was rarer than that, not absent. His list gives one count for the spellings Sharp and Sharpe.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Per 10,000 farmers, by county

Lincolnshire 53
Leicestershire and Rutland 38
Nottinghamshire 32
Cumberland and Westmorland 30
Kent 27
Northamptonshire 25
Berkshire 20
Yorkshire, West Riding 20

And 6 more counties.

H. B. Guppy, «Homes of Family Names in Great Britain» (London, 1890), alphabetical list of English and Welsh names — public domain · farmers in Kelly’s Post Office Directories of the 1880s, per 10,000 farmers in each county.

In Scotland, 1880s

Sharp was 17 in every 10,000 names in Scotland.

That is about 1 in 588. Its home there, in Guppy’s words: “Perthshire.” He counted the more than 20,000 names in Halliburton’s County Directory of Scotland, taking Scotland as a whole, and listed only the names that reached 10 in every 10,000.

H. B. Guppy, «Homes of Family Names in Great Britain» (London, 1890), appendix: alphabetical list of the most frequent Scottish names, p. 594 — public domain · names in Halliburton’s County Directory of Scotland, per 10,000 for the whole country.

In Scotland’s registers today

Sharp was recorded 109 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 231st most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 192. Each birth counts the child’s surname, each marriage both partners’ and each death the surname of the person who died — a yearly count of registrations, not of the people who live in Scotland.

National Records of Scotland, «Most Common Surnames, 2025» (published 26 May 2026): every surname recorded 10 or more times in the 2025 registers, and the series from 1975 · different spellings are counted separately — © Crown copyright 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

211 families named Sharp, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 1,150 people lived in those households, 5.5 to a family on average. The census counted these spellings together: Sharp, Sharpe, Sherp. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

Pennsylvania 63
New York 43
North Carolina 33
Connecticut 18
Virginia 18
Maryland 13
South Carolina 11
Vermont 6
Massachusetts 5
New Hampshire 1

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 261 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Sharp in American newspapers,
1842–1843.

Newspaper page from Holly Springs Gazette carrying the name Sharp
Holly Springs Gazette 1843-02-17
Newspaper page from New-hampshire Statesman And State Journal carrying the name Sharp
New-hampshire Statesman And State Journal 1843-01-20
Newspaper page from Hill's New-hampshire Patriot carrying the name Sharp
Hill's New-hampshire Patriot 1842-12-29

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 17,295 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Sharp in Australian newspapers,
1820s–2020s.

132,879 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Sharp. The most, 19,818, date from the 1930s. New South Wales has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in Tasmania, at 1.6 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 44,743
Victoria 31,989
Queensland 14,747
Tasmania 14,052
Western Australia 13,312
South Australia 12,644
ACT (Canberra) 947
Northern Territory 110

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Sharp.

Who carried it

People named Sharp,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Bartholomew Sharp
    Bartholomew Sharp 1650–1702 · buccaneer
  • Abraham Sharp
    Abraham Sharp 1653–1742 · astronomer
  • Thomas Sharp
    Thomas Sharp 1693–1758 · biographer
  • Samuel Sharp
    Samuel Sharp 1709–1778 · physician
  • William Sharp
    William Sharp 1729–1810 · physician

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped — Samuel Sharp: unknown author, CC BY 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0); the others are in the public domain or CC0 · 224 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Sharp,
in the records of 8 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States6,884 records

6,884 records of the Sharp name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 2,722
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 1,174
  • Other U.S. records 2,988
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Larry Douglas Sharp

    Born 1947; from San Lorenzo, California. U.S. Army, infantryman; killed in action 1967 in Kontum, South Vietnam. Buried at Golden Gate National Cemetery, California.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Donald W. Sharp

    Born 1932; from Pike County, Indiana. U.S. Army, light weapons infantry leader; killed in action 1953 in North Korea. Buried at Williams Cemetery, Winslow, Indiana.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  3. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Budrow C. Sharp

    Born 1920 in Wyoming. Enlisted 1941 at Missoula, Montana; driver from Hot Springs County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1997, buried at Monument Hill Cemetery, Thermopolis, Wyoming.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)

Showing 3 of 6,884 records for Sharp in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · New York State, Open NY (police and firefighter memorial rolls) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain).

Australia4,319 records

4,319 records of the Sharp name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 2,304
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 851
  • Other Australian records 1,164
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Robert Sharp

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Marquis of Hastings, sailing from London in 1842. Native of Ifield, Sussex. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1848.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record James Sharp

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Candahar, sailing from Spithead in 1842. Native of Marden, Kent. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1850. Married 1850 in Hobart, Tasmania.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Rebecca Sharp

    Died 1890 in Bothwell, Tasmania, aged 84. Will registered in Tasmania in 1890.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 4,319 records for Sharp in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (CC BY 4.0) · City of Ballarat, Avenue of Honour Plaques (CC BY 3.0 AU). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

Canada414 records

414 records of the Sharp name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 205
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 56
  • Other Canadian records 153
  1. The first page of an emigration file from Gündlingen, Baden, 1883
    Example: German emigration file, 1883
    Emigration record John Sharp

    Left New York in 1783 aboard the L'Abondence, bound for Port Roseway, aged 67.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Jas Sharp

    Came to Ontario in 1874 aboard the Austrian, bound for Brace Bridge, Ontario; English.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
  3. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Farley Knute Sharp

    Buried in 1969 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 33.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.

Showing 3 of 414 records for Sharp in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Emigration file, Gündlingen, 1883, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Staatsarchiv Freiburg B 694/1 Nr. 1389 (CC BY 4.0); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0).

United Kingdom348 records

348 records of the Sharp name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 145
  • Stirling Council burial records 141
  • Other British records 62
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record Francis John Sharp

    Born 1898 at Craigellachie; farm servant. Died 1918. Named in the Morayshire roll of honour (1921).

    National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Agnes Sharp

    Died 1992, aged 83; buried at Bannockburn Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record George Ernest Sharp

    Will proved in 1934; of Colwyn Bay, Denbigh.

    National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0)

Showing 3 of 348 records for Sharp in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain) · National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0); Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

New Zealand70 records

70 records of the Sharp name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 56
  • Thames-Coromandel District cemetery records 5
  • Other New Zealand records 9
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Mavis Sharp

    Died 1991, aged 82; buried at Ruru Lawn, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record William Lawson Sharp

    Died 1942, aged 86; buried at Omaka Cemetery, Marlborough.

    Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Jane Sharp

    Buried in 1875 at Shortland Cemetery, Thames-Coromandel District, Waikato, aged 64.

    Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 70 records for Sharp in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0) · Canterbury Maps (Environment Canterbury), Timaru and Mackenzie District Councils (CC BY 3.0 NZ). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

Netherlands40 records

40 records of the Sharp name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch population registers 15
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 13
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 12
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record John Sharp

    Died 1831 in Vlissingen, aged 27; seaman.

    Open Archives, Zeeuws Archief (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record James Sharp

    Married in 1945 in Rheden; soldier.

    Open Archives, Gelders Archief (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Elisabeth Sharp

    Married in 1748 in Rotterdam; born in Rotterdam.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Rotterdam (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 40 records for Sharp in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

France11 records

11 records of the Sharp name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Esther May Sharp

    Born 1914 in Canada; died 1989 in Fort-de-France (Martinique).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  2. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record James William Sharp

    Born 1921 in Great Britain; died 1995 in Lourdes (Hautes-Pyrénées).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 2 of 11 records for Sharp in France.

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Norway1 record

1 record of the Sharp name in Norway Norway's 1910 census
  1. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Census record Agnes Sharp

    Census of 1910: Vorfrue villa, Aker; born 1893 in Ireland.

    Arkivverket, Digitalarkivet, 1910 census (CC BY 3.0 NO)

Counts: Arkivverket, Digitalarkivet, 1910 census (CC BY 3.0 NO). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

Other spellings of this name

The same name, spelled another way.

Spellings that H. B. Guppy (England and Wales, 1890) or the Registrar-General for Ireland (births index of 1890) counted as one name together with Sharp.

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Sharp.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Sharp 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.

See the Sharp volume
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