Sherrod
Masculine · “bright and hardy”
Sherrod is overwhelmingly a boys’ name — 1,970 boys against 5 girls since 1880.
The ending of this name looks like an ordinary English noun and is not one. What reads as rod is the worn-down remains of a Germanic element meaning hardy or brave, the same one that closes Richard, Gerard and Bernard, and it has nothing to do with sticks.
How old is the name Sherrod?
Sherrod first appears in US birth records in 1916 — 109 years ago. The typical Sherrod alive today was born around 1987, making them about 38 years old. About 1,800 people named Sherrod are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Sherrod most popular?
Sherrod peaked in 1988, reaching #1296 nationally. See the whole 1988 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Sherard to Sherrod
The story of Sherrod
The first element is one English still uses without recognizing it. Old English scir meant bright or clear, and it has come down to the modern word sheer — which now means steep, or absolute, or thin enough to see through, all of them descendants of the idea of clarity. The same element opens Sheridan and Sherwin and stands behind the shire, which was an administrative division marked out cleanly rather than a bright one. A name carrying it is carrying a word that is still in the language and has traveled a long way from where it started.
Meaningscholars disagree
bright and hardy
Both elements are Germanic and each is well attested on its own; the identification of this particular surname as their compound is the usual explanation but not the only possible one.
How the name formed
- Sherard
- Sherrod
Pronouncing Sherrod
SHERR-ud
Two syllables with the stress at the front and the second reduced. The ending is not said as the noun it resembles.
Nicknames for Sherrod
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
- 1916
- Most boys named
- 199171 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1296reached in 1988
- Change vs 2022
- +66.7%10 in 2024, from 6
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.
Sherrods among us
people named Sherrod 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
Sherrod 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
- Rod sits inside it as a plain and completely familiar short form.
- It belongs to the surname-name tradition without being a common example.
- The spelling gives no trouble once the stress is placed.
- The ending reads as an English noun and will be heard as one.
- The spelling is recorded for a few girls, but nearly every child with it is a boy.
- The origin is not fully settled and the meaning is offered with a caveat.
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Sherrod
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Sherrods are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,800 people named Sherrod are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Sherrod in 2025?
- Sherrod is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Sherrod with classmates?
- Sherrod will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More S names
The most-given names starting with S, all years combined.
Steven#271 · Stephen#383 · Samuel#18 · Scott#534 · Sean#489 · Shawn#681 · Stanley#863 · Steve#1609
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Sherrod? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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