Sharay
Feminine
Sharay is overwhelmingly a girls’ name — 739 girls against 5 boys since 1880.
Sharay is an American build, recorded for boys and girls alike, with no documented parent. Its second syllable is a word that English uses for two completely unrelated things, which is worth a moment.
How old is the name Sharay?
Sharay first appears in US birth records in 1967 — 58 years ago. The typical Sharay alive today was born around 1990, making them about 35 years old. About 700 people named Sharay are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Sharay most popular?
Sharay peaked in 1991, reaching #2449 nationally. See the whole 1991 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Sharay
A ray of light comes through French from the Latin radius, a spoke or a rod, which also gives radiation, radius and radio. A ray the fish is a different word entirely, from the Latin raia, which is simply the name of the animal and has no agreed origin beyond that. The two met in English spelling and have been sitting side by side ever since without confusing anybody, because nobody ever has to decide which one is meant. English tolerates an enormous amount of this. Homographs only cause trouble in writing, and in speech the context has always done the work.
Meaningnot established
Not established
No source has been documented. Both pieces were free elements in American naming of the period, and the record holds the spelling for both sexes without explanation.
Pronouncing Sharay
shuh-RAY
Two syllables with the weight on the second. The stress is unmistakable.
Nicknames for Sharay
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1967
- Most girls named
- 199151 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2449reached in 1991
- Change vs 2011
- 0.0%8 in 2012, from 8
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Sharays among us
people named Sharay are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Sharay sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- Ray and Shar are both available as short forms and both work on their own.
- The stress is clear, so most people say it correctly on a first reading.
- It is recorded for boys and for girls, so it leaves a question open rather than closing it.
- The spelling is recorded for a few boys, but nearly every child with it is a girl.
- Sharae, Sheray and Shareé are all in the record and will be confused with it.
- No origin is documented, so the meaning question has nothing to answer with.
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Sharay
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Sharays are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 700 people named Sharay are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Sharay in 2025?
- Sharay is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Sharay with classmates?
- Sharay will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More S names
The most-given names starting with S, all years combined.
Susan#1085 · Sarah#90 · Sandra#1207 · Stephanie#557 · Sharon#1250 · Shirley#1581 · Samantha#151 · Sophia#5
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Sharay? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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