NameCensus.

UK surname

Sharp

An English occupational surname referring to someone who sharpens blades or tools, or a shrewd and quick-witted person.

In the 1881 census there were 24,950 people recorded with the Sharp surname, ranking it #133 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 27,760, ranked #203, down from #133 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to London parishes, Halifax and Edinburgh. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Wakefield, Copeland and North Somerset.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Sharp is 29,063 in 1999. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 11.3%.

1881 census count

24,950

Ranked #133

Modern count

27,760

2016, ranked #203

Peak year

1999

29,063 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Sharp had 24,950 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #133 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 27,760 in 2016, ranked #203.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 28,954 in 1901.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Sharp surname distribution map

The map shows where the Sharp surname is concentrated in each census or modern distribution year. Darker areas mean a stronger local concentration.

Distribution map

Sharp surname density by area, 1881 census.

Loading map
Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Sharp over time

The table below tracks recorded surname counts and rank from the 19th-century census years through the modern adult-register period.

Year Period Count Rank
1851 historical 18,440 #115
1861 historical 19,102 #112
1881 historical 24,950 #133
1891 historical 26,456 #128
1901 historical 28,954 #140
1911 historical 26,556 #156
1997 modern 28,118 #189
1998 modern 28,872 #194
1999 modern 29,063 #194
2000 modern 28,779 #196
2001 modern 27,974 #198
2002 modern 28,471 #198
2003 modern 27,728 #197
2004 modern 27,598 #198
2005 modern 27,050 #199
2006 modern 26,996 #199
2007 modern 27,181 #199
2008 modern 27,320 #198
2009 modern 27,941 #198
2010 modern 28,502 #198
2011 modern 28,074 #199
2012 modern 27,488 #198
2013 modern 28,012 #198
2014 modern 28,165 #202
2015 modern 27,930 #200
2016 modern 27,760 #203

Geography

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Where Sharps are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around London parishes, Halifax, Edinburgh and Glasgow. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Wakefield, Copeland, North Somerset, South Derbyshire and Bradford. Treat these as concentration signals, not proof that every family line began there.

Some modern areas include a three-digit suffix, such as Leeds 110. The suffix is a small-area code, so it stays in the table while the prose uses the plain place name.

Top historical parishes

Rank Parish Area
1 London parishes London 1
2 Halifax Yorkshire, West Riding
3 London parishes London 3
4 Edinburgh Edinburgh
5 Glasgow Lanark

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Wakefield 027 Wakefield
2 Copeland 008 Copeland
3 North Somerset 004 North Somerset
4 South Derbyshire 007 South Derbyshire
5 Bradford 022 Bradford

Forenames

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First names often paired with Sharp

These lists show first names that appear often with the Sharp surname in historical and recent records.

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Sharp

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Sharp, this points to the kinds of places where the surname is most concentrated today.

These neighbourhood labels describe areas, not individual people. They are useful because surnames often cluster through family history, migration, housing patterns and local work. A surname can be strongest in one type of neighbourhood even when people with that name live across the country.

The UK classification gives the national picture. The London classification is more specific to the capital, where housing, age profile, tenure and population mix can look quite different from the rest of the UK.

UK neighbourhood type

UK Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Suburbanites and Peri-Urbanities

Group

Rural Amenity

Nationally, the Sharp surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Rural Amenity, within Suburbanites and Peri-Urbanities. This does not mean every Sharp household fits that profile, but it gives a useful signal about where the modern surname distribution is strongest.

Read profile summary

Group profile

This Group comprises older parents or retirees, with no resident dependent children, and with the lowest residential densities in this Supergroup. Predominantly UK-born, residents typically live in detached houses, although others do live in semi-detached and terraced properties. The level of multiple car ownership is the highest in this Supergroup. Most houses are owner occupied although social renting is also present. Many concentrations occur in high amenity rural locations, such as Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Wider pattern

Pervasive throughout the UK, members of this Supergroup typically own (or are buying) their detached, semi-detached or terraced homes. They are also typically educated to A Level/Highers or degree level and work in skilled or professional occupations. Typically born in the UK, some families have children, although the median adult age is above 45 and some property has become under-occupied after children have left home. This Supergroup is pervasive not only in suburban locations, but also in neighbourhoods at or beyond the edge of cities that adjoin rural parts of the country.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Older Residents in Owner-Occupied Suburbs

Group

London Fringe

Within London, Sharp is most associated with areas classed as London Fringe, part of Older Residents in Owner-Occupied Suburbs. This gives the surname a London-specific profile rather than forcing the capital into the same pattern as the rest of the country.

Read profile summary

Group profile

Predominantly located in neighbourhoods on the outskirts of Greater London, residents of these neighbourhoods typically have their highest qualifications below degree (Level 4) level, with those still in work engaged in skilled trades and occupations in distribution, hotels and restaurants. There is low ethnic diversity in these neighbourhoods and high levels of Christian religious affiliation. Detached or terraced houses predominate, often with spare rooms.

Wider London pattern

The age distribution of these neighbourhoods is skewed towards the middle-aged and old, although few residents live alone or in communal establishments and numbers of dependent children are around average. Owner occupation is the norm, as is residence in detached or semi-detached houses. Residential densities are low and many households have spare rooms. Most residents were born in the UK and, aside from some identifying as members of Chinese or Indian ethnicities, identify as White. Mixed ethnicity households are rare. Incidence of married couples is higher than average and few individuals have never been married. A large proportion of individuals still in employment work in administrative and secretarial occupations, or in the construction industry. Few residents are students, and many households own more than one car.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Sharp is most concentrated in decile 6 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname near the middle of the scale.

Lower deciles point towards weaker access to healthy assets or stronger exposure to local hazards. Higher deciles point towards stronger access and fewer hazards.

6
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Sharp falls in decile 6 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname near the middle of the scale.

Decile 1 represents the more deprived end of the scale. Decile 10 represents the less deprived end.

6
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Sharp is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of 30-40 mbit/s.

The scale below places that band in context, from slower local download bands through to faster ones.

6
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

This describes the area pattern most associated with Sharp, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

Meaning and origin of Sharp

The surname Sharp is of English origin, deriving from the Old English word "scearp," which means sharp or keen-witted. The name likely originated as a descriptive nickname for someone who was considered sharp or quick-witted.

In the Domesday Book of 1086, a survey of land ownership in England commissioned by William the Conqueror, the earliest known spelling of the name appears as "Scharpe." This suggests that the name was already in use by the late 11th century.

One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was Richard le Sharpe, who is mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Lincolnshire in 1195. The "le" prefix indicates that he was likely known as Richard the Sharp, reflecting the descriptive nature of the surname.

The name was also associated with certain place names, such as Sharpe's Hill in Derbyshire and Sharpe's Moor in Yorkshire, which may have influenced the adoption of the surname in those areas.

Among notable historical figures with the surname Sharp, one can mention:

1. Abraham Sharp (1653-1742), an English mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the development of calculus.

2. Granville Sharp (1735-1813), an English abolitionist and one of the first campaigners for the abolition of slavery in the British Empire.

3. Becky Sharp, the cunning and ambitious protagonist of William Makepeace Thackeray's novel "Vanity Fair" (published in 1847-1848).

4. Dorothy Sharp (1886-1962), an English artist and sculptor known for her avant-garde works and association with the Vorticist movement.

5. Thomas Sharp (1770-1841), an English political reformer and philanthropist, known for his work in establishing the first Mechanics' Institute in Britain.

The surname Sharp has been borne by individuals from various walks of life, reflecting its widespread usage and enduring presence throughout English history.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Sharp families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Sharp surname. Use the location tables for concentration, then the name and occupation tables for the people behind the surname.

Top counties

Total is the county count. Frequency and index adjust for local population size, so they are better concentration signals. Yorkshire leads with 4,639 Sharps recorded in 1881 and an index of 1.92x.

County Total Index
Yorkshire 4,639 1.92x
Middlesex 2,249 0.92x
Lancashire 1,679 0.58x
Kent 1,265 1.52x
Surrey 958 0.81x
Lincolnshire 925 2.38x
Lanarkshire 911 1.16x
Durham 726 1.00x
Essex 648 1.35x
Sussex 519 1.26x
Northamptonshire 497 2.17x
Hertfordshire 481 2.87x
Leicestershire 454 1.68x
Fife 445 3.09x
Midlothian 443 1.36x
Warwickshire 434 0.71x
Perthshire 429 3.93x
Hampshire 424 0.85x
Derbyshire 422 1.11x
Bedfordshire 416 3.30x
Northumberland 406 1.12x
Cumberland 379 1.81x
Nottinghamshire 351 1.07x
Angus 304 1.35x
Buckinghamshire 286 1.94x
Renfrewshire 256 1.36x
Aberdeenshire 250 1.11x
Berkshire 239 1.31x
Gloucestershire 236 0.49x
Staffordshire 225 0.27x
Stirlingshire 221 2.46x
Ayrshire 203 1.11x
Cambridgeshire 188 1.22x
Clackmannanshire 175 8.70x
Suffolk 169 0.57x
Somerset 162 0.41x
Cheshire 143 0.27x
Worcestershire 139 0.44x
Dunbartonshire 126 1.93x
Dorset 125 0.78x
Wiltshire 116 0.54x
Westmorland 115 2.15x
Norfolk 89 0.24x
Dumfriesshire 84 1.56x
Devon 79 0.16x
West Lothian 76 2.07x
Oxfordshire 66 0.44x
Kinross-shire 54 8.77x
Huntingdonshire 50 1.03x
Glamorgan 46 0.11x
Buteshire 45 3.05x
Banffshire 44 0.87x
Shetland 38 1.53x
Isle of Man 37 0.82x
Kirkcudbrightshire 37 1.05x
Morayshire 37 0.98x
Monmouthshire 35 0.20x
Roxburghshire 32 0.73x
Herefordshire 30 0.30x
Shropshire 29 0.14x
Berwickshire 28 0.95x
Inverness-shire 28 0.39x
East Lothian 26 0.81x
Argyllshire 25 0.37x
Cornwall 23 0.08x
Rutland 23 1.29x
Selkirkshire 17 0.77x
Royal Navy 15 0.52x
Radnorshire 11 0.56x
Channel Islands 10 0.14x
Caithness 9 0.27x
Carmarthenshire 8 0.08x
Sutherland 7 0.37x
Wigtownshire 7 0.22x
Flintshire 6 0.09x
Denbighshire 5 0.05x
Brecknockshire 4 0.08x
Pembrokeshire 4 0.05x
Kincardineshire 3 0.10x
Nairnshire 3 0.40x
Orkney 3 0.11x
Ross-shire 2 0.03x
Anglesey 1 0.02x
Caernarfonshire 1 0.01x
Peeblesshire 1 0.09x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Leeds in Yorkshire leads with 293 Sharps recorded in 1881 and an index of 2.15x.

Place Total Index
Leeds 293 2.15x
Govan 270 1.39x
Horton In Bradford 259 6.87x
Barony 224 1.12x
Lambeth 215 1.01x
Islington London 207 0.88x
Brighton 187 2.26x
West Ham 164 1.55x
Northowram 160 9.46x
Bradford 159 2.72x
Edinburgh St Cuthberts 156 1.19x
Hackney London 156 1.14x
Keighley 145 5.64x
St Pancras London 140 0.71x
Dundee 137 1.63x
Bethnal Green London 131 1.24x
Camberwell 131 0.84x
Glasgow 128 0.92x
Leicester St Margaret 125 1.90x
Aston 122 0.72x
Clackmannan 121 31.84x
Kensington London 120 0.89x
Birmingham 116 0.57x
Bowling 113 4.73x
St Marylebone London 113 0.87x
Dunfermline 109 4.92x
Shoreditch London 109 1.03x
Hunslet 106 2.82x
Shelf 104 45.14x
Mile End Old Town 103 2.68x
Paddington London 103 1.15x
Bishopwearmouth 102 1.64x
Maidstone 100 4.04x
Toxteth Park 99 1.01x
Halifax 91 2.57x
Deptford St Paul 89 1.39x
Manchester 88 0.68x
Pudsey 86 6.67x
Hitchin 84 11.09x
North Bierley 82 6.30x
Holy Trinity 80 1.38x
Preston 79 1.02x
Liverpool 78 0.44x
Clayton 73 12.36x
Gateshead 73 1.35x
Morley 73 5.82x
Portsea 73 0.75x
Sculcoates 73 1.91x
Everton 72 0.78x
Newington 72 0.80x
West Derby 72 0.85x
Liff Benvie 71 2.07x
Luton 70 3.21x
Stockton On Tees 68 1.95x
Sheffield 67 0.87x
Barrow In Furness 65 1.65x
New Monkland 65 2.79x
Nottingham St Mary 65 0.77x
Clerkenwell London 62 1.08x
Dewsbury 62 2.51x
Aberdeen St Nicholas 61 1.45x
Litchurch 61 3.98x
Falkirk 60 2.85x
Manningham 60 2.02x
Wyke In Bradford 60 13.91x
Westoe 59 1.44x
Battersea 58 0.65x
Dronfield 58 11.87x
Headingley Cum Burley 57 3.67x
Hipperholme Cum 56 5.28x
Maulden 56 51.26x
Croydon 55 0.84x
Horncastle 54 13.44x
Limehouse London 54 2.02x
West Greenock 54 1.59x
East Greenock 53 2.97x
Folkestone 53 3.29x
Brightside Bierlow 52 1.10x
Bromley London 52 0.97x
Chelsea London 52 0.71x
Dartford 52 6.12x
Holbeck 52 3.25x
Southwark St George Martyr 52 1.06x
Towcester 52 22.02x
Wellingborough 50 4.34x

Top female names

These are the female first names most often recorded with the Sharp surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
Mary 1,357
Elizabeth 786
Sarah 776
Ann 417
Jane 374
Annie 357
Emma 351
Eliza 348
Ellen 304
Alice 289
Hannah 265
Emily 250
Martha 199
Margaret 176
Louisa 139
Ada 133
Harriet 126
Fanny 118
Caroline 116
Maria 115
Edith 110
Charlotte 106
Florence 100
Lucy 100
Clara 99
Agnes 91
Isabella 91
Frances 89
Kate 86
Catherine 73
Susan 69
Harriett 64
Rose 64
Anne 61
Esther 52
Julia 52
Minnie 52
Rebecca 52
Matilda 50
Sophia 47
Eleanor 46
Elizth. 46
Amelia 45
Ruth 44
Susannah 41
Amy 40
Betsy 40
Rachel 36
Ethel 35
Lydia 34

Top male names

These are the male first names most often recorded with the Sharp surname in 1881. Names are not merged, so initials, variant spellings and transcription quirks can appear as separate rows.

Name Count
William 1,330
John 1,164
George 725
Thomas 613
James 560
Henry 450
Joseph 399
Charles 376
Robert 238
Alfred 225
Arthur 214
Frederick 193
Samuel 190
Edward 189
Richard 178
Walter 167
Albert 145
Harry 133
Herbert 97
Ernest 92
Fred 87
Frank 82
David 81
Benjamin 76
Edwin 63
Wm. 63
Daniel 47
Tom 47
Stephen 43
Thos. 38
Francis 34
Isaac 34
Abraham 31
Fredrick 26
Sam 26
Andrew 25
Joe 24
Matthew 24
Peter 24
Fredk. 23
Percy 21
Sidney 21
Alexander 20
Willie 20
Geo. 19
Jonathan 17
Mark 17
Harold 16
Chas. 15
Jeremiah 15

FAQ

Sharp surname: questions and answers

How common was the Sharp surname in 1881?

In 1881, 24,950 people were recorded with the Sharp surname. That placed it at #133 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Sharp surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 27,760 in 2016. That gives Sharp a modern rank of #203.

What does the Sharp surname mean?

An English occupational surname referring to someone who sharpens blades or tools, or a shrewd and quick-witted person.

What does the Sharp map show?

The map shows local surname concentration for the selected year. Darker areas have a stronger concentration of Sharp bearers relative to the surrounding population.

What records is this surname page based on?

The historical counts come from census surname records. The modern counts and neighbourhood summaries come from later surname distribution records. Counts are recorded bearers in those records, not a live estimate of everyone with the name today.