Total births
12,175
Girls' name · since 1917
Sharlene
12,175 babies named Sharlene in U.S. Social Security records since 1917, with the highest year being 1956. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #11201
- among girls today
- 12,175
- born since 1917
- 1950s
- peak decade
- 37%
- more common than other girls
Sharlene currently ranks #11201 among girls' names in America, with 12,175 babies recorded since 1917.
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Sharlene has been recorded 12,175 times among girls since 1917, currently ranked #11201 nationally and more common than 37% of girls, with its heaviest use in the 1950s. This profile covers year-by-year birth trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution, all derived directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1917 to 2025.
- #11201 among girls today
- 12,175 born since 1917
- 1950s peak decade
- 37% more common than other girls
Data updated Jun 2026
The verdict
Sharlene is currently the #11201 girls' name in America, more common than 37% of girls - 12,175 born since 1917, peaking in the 1950s.
- #11201
- among girls today
- 12,175
- born since 1917
- 1950s
- peak decade
- 37%
- more common than other girls
Sharlene vs. every other girls name in current SSA rankings
#11201
of 17,726 girls in use
More common than 37% of names given to girls today.
1950s
Peak decade
24% of everyone ever named Sharlene was born in this single decade.
1956
Single peak year
380 babies were named Sharlene in 1956 - its busiest year on record.
How Sharlene compares
12,175 Top 8% higher than 92% of 17,726 names currently given to girls
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked girls names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Sharlene's all-time total is 32x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Sharlene | Median girls name (Emerly) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 12,175 | 382 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 380 | 48 | 19,840 |
Sharlene's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Sharlene's full recorded timeline at 1973, 25% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 75% in the earlier half -- the name was more prevalent in its earlier era than it is today. Its quietest year on record was 1917, with just 5 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 1956 peak of 380 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Sharlene at a glance
Outside the top 1,000Peak year
1956
Current rank
#11,201
Active since
1917
Sharlene popularity over time
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1917–2025
- Peak year (1956)
- 380
- Annual births at peak, across 109 years of records
Sharlene by decade
Total births in each ten-year window, peak vs trough at a glance
1950s was Sharlene's strongest decade.
2,893 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 24% of all-time use.
Sharlene births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1910s 5
1910s
5 births
- 1920s 88
1920s
88 births
- 1930s 1,120
1930s
1,120 births
- 1940s
1940s
2,000 births
- 1950s
1950s
2,893 births
- 1960s
1960s
2,462 births
- 1970s
1970s
1,314 births
- 1980s 971
1980s
971 births
- 1990s 621
1990s
621 births
- 2000s 396
2000s
396 births
- 2010s 241
2010s
241 births
- 2020s 64
2020s
64 births
What this shows Peak: 1950s at 2,893 births (24% of all-time use).
How Sharlene compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 girls names closest to Sharlene's total volume
Sharlene vs 15 similarly-sized girls names
Sharlene by state
Where Sharlene concentrates geographically, total births since 1917
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | California | | 1,523 | 12.5% |
| #2 | New York | | 1,066 | 8.8% |
| #3 | Michigan | | 614 | 5.0% |
| #4 | Ohio | | 447 | 3.7% |
| #5 | Illinois | | 426 | 3.5% |
| #6 | Pennsylvania | | 417 | 3.4% |
| #7 | Utah | | 339 | 2.8% |
| #8 | Texas | | 317 | 2.6% |
California share of Sharlene's total US births 12.5%
Even split
1,523 of 12,175 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 44 reporting states.
Sharlene appears in 44 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Sharlene? ▼
Since 1917, Social Security records show 12,175 babies named Sharlene. Today it holds rank #11201 among girls. Its busiest year on record was 1956, with 380 births.
When was Sharlene most popular? ▼
Sharlene was most popular in the 1950s decade with 2,893 total births. The single peak year was 1956.
Where is Sharlene most popular? ▼
The top states for the name Sharlene are California (1,523 births), New York (1,066 births), Michigan (614 births).
How long has the name Sharlene been used? ▼
Sharlene has been recorded in Social Security data since 1917, spanning 109 years of data through 2025.
What names are similar to Sharlene? ▼
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Sharon, Shannon, Shawna, Shari, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for girls.
What to do with Sharlene's data
- Sharlene's decade-level peak was the 1950s (2,893 total births); usage has since declined to 64 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- California records the most Sharlenes (1,523 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. California names
- Weighing it against an alternative? Put two names side by side. Compare names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Sharlene
Nearby Names Like Sharlene
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Sharlene
Sharon Girl
#1224 723,024 births
Shannon Girl
#1874 295,782 births
Shawna Girl
#6004 45,531 births
Shari Girl
#13636 40,927 births
Shawn Girl
#7307 33,055 births
Compare Sharlene side by side: Sharlene vs Sharon Sharlene vs Shannon Sharlene vs Shawna
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Sharlene
Data Sources
Data as of June 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1917–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Cite this page
NameAlmanac Editorial. "Sharlene: #11201 Girls' Name - 12,175 Births, Peak 1956." NameAlmanac. Accessed via https://namealmanac.com/name/sharlene. Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Sharlene draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.