NameCensus.

UK surname

Sharpe

A nickname-derived surname referring to a keen or quick-witted person, or someone with a pointed facial feature.

In the 1881 census there were 8,824 people recorded with the Sharpe surname, ranking it #477 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 13,939, ranked #454, up from #477 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Lincoln St Botolph, London parishes and Lenton, Radford, Papplewick, Nuthall, Greasley, Brewhouse Yard. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include Charnwood, Copeland and North West Leicestershire.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Sharpe is 14,743 in 1999. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 58.0%.

1881 census count

8,824

Ranked #477

Modern count

13,939

2016, ranked #454

Peak year

1999

14,743 bearers

Map years

9

1851 to 2016

Key insights

  • Sharpe had 8,824 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #477 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 13,939 in 2016, ranked #454.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 12,369 in 1901.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Rural Amenity.

Sharpe surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Sharpe surname density by area, 1881 census.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Sharpe 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 4,587 #612
1861 historical 4,813 #586
1881 historical 8,824 #477
1891 historical 9,799 #449
1901 historical 12,369 #425
1911 historical 12,328 #398
1997 modern 14,316 #421
1998 modern 14,635 #429
1999 modern 14,743 #429
2000 modern 14,650 #432
2001 modern 14,235 #434
2002 modern 14,451 #434
2003 modern 14,137 #433
2004 modern 14,093 #433
2005 modern 13,762 #438
2006 modern 13,747 #440
2007 modern 13,724 #447
2008 modern 13,786 #447
2009 modern 14,197 #445
2010 modern 14,584 #443
2011 modern 14,286 #445
2012 modern 13,896 #447
2013 modern 14,137 #450
2014 modern 14,198 #452
2015 modern 14,020 #454
2016 modern 13,939 #454

Geography

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Where Sharpes are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Lincoln St Botolph, London parishes, Lenton, Radford, Papplewick, Nuthall, Greasley, Brewhouse Yard and Leicester St Margaret and Bishop's Fee, Leicester All Saints, Blackfriars. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to Charnwood, Copeland and North West Leicestershire. 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 Lincoln St Botolph Lincolnshire
2 London parishes London 1
3 Lenton, Radford, Papplewick, Nuthall, Greasley, Brewhouse Yard Nottinghamshire
4 London parishes London 3
5 Leicester St Margaret and Bishop's Fee, Leicester All Saints, Blackfriars Leicestershire

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 Charnwood 009 Charnwood
2 Copeland 004 Copeland
3 North West Leicestershire 013 North West Leicestershire
4 Charnwood 002 Charnwood
5 Charnwood 007 Charnwood

Forenames

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First names often paired with Sharpe

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Sharpe

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Sharpe, 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 Sharpe surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Rural Amenity, within Suburbanites and Peri-Urbanities. This does not mean every Sharpe 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

The Greater London Mix

Group

Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers

Within London, Sharpe is most associated with areas classed as Social Rented Sector Professional Support Workers, part of The Greater London Mix. 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

Mainly located in Inner London, these neighbourhoods retain a diverse employment structure, with some concentration in associated professional and technical occupations rather than skilled trades or construction. Social renting is more common and levels of homeownership are low. Many residents identify as Black. There is a lower than average rate of marriage or civil partnership, few that are very old (85 or over) and higher than average incidence of disability.

Wider London pattern

A Supergroup embodying London's diversity in many respects, apart from low numbers of residents identifying as of Bangladeshi, Indian, Pakistani or Other (non-Chinese) Asian ethnicity. There is lower than average prevalence of families with dependent children, while there are above average occurrences of never-married individuals and single-person households. The age distribution is skewed towards younger, single residents and couples without children, with many individuals identifying as of mixed or multiple ethnicity. Social rented or private rented housing is slightly more prevalent than average, and many residents live in flats. Individuals typically work in professional and associated roles in public administration, education or health rather than in elementary occupations in agriculture, energy, water, construction or manufacturing. Incidence of students is slightly below average. Individuals declaring no religion are more prevalent than average and non-use of English at home is below average.

Healthy neighbourhoods

Access to healthy assets and hazards

Sharpe is most concentrated in decile 8 for access to healthy assets and hazards. This places the surname towards the healthier end of the index.

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

8
Lower access Higher access

Neighbourhood deprivation

Index of Multiple Deprivation

Sharpe 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 Sharpe 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 Sharpe, not the ethnicity of every person with the surname.

Meaning and origin of Sharpe

The surname Sharpe originates from England and can be traced back to the 11th century. It is derived from the Old English word "scearp," which means sharp or keen-witted, and was likely initially given as a nickname to someone with those characteristics.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the Domesday Book of 1086, which lists a landowner named Willielmus Scharpe in Lincolnshire. This suggests that the name was already well-established in certain parts of England by the late 11th century.

During the Middle Ages, the name was found in various spellings, such as Sharpe, Scharpe, and Scharp, reflecting regional variations in pronunciation and spelling conventions of the time. The name was particularly prevalent in the counties of Yorkshire, Lancashire, and Lincolnshire, where many early records of the name can be found.

One notable figure bearing the surname Sharpe was Abraham Sharpe (1651-1742), an English mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the study of logarithms and the calculation of planetary orbits.

Another prominent individual was Granville Sharpe (1735-1813), an English abolitionist and philanthropist who played a crucial role in the campaign against the slave trade in Britain. His legal efforts resulted in the landmark Somerset case of 1772, which helped establish the principle that slavery was unsupportable in England.

In the literary realm, William Sharpe (1742-1818) was a British poet and writer who is best known for his work "The Life of Rev. James Baker, D.D.," a biography of a prominent Anglican clergyman.

Samuel Sharpe (1799-1881) was an English Egyptologist and translator who made significant contributions to the study of Egyptian hieroglyphics and the decipherment of ancient Egyptian texts.

The surname Sharpe has also been associated with several place names in England, such as Sharpe's Hill in Derbyshire and Sharpe's Cove in Cornwall, further highlighting its historical roots and geographical spread across the country.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Sharpe families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Sharpe 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 1,024 Sharpes recorded in 1881 and an index of 1.20x.

County Total Index
Yorkshire 1,024 1.20x
Lincolnshire 911 6.62x
Middlesex 883 1.03x
Leicestershire 779 8.16x
Lancashire 550 0.54x
Nottinghamshire 445 3.83x
Surrey 439 1.05x
Northamptonshire 382 4.72x
Kent 297 1.01x
Derbyshire 235 1.74x
Suffolk 208 1.98x
Warwickshire 182 0.84x
Rutland 153 24.20x
Bedfordshire 141 3.16x
Essex 138 0.81x
Lanarkshire 126 0.45x
Staffordshire 113 0.39x
Norfolk 106 0.80x
Hertfordshire 103 1.74x
Sussex 102 0.70x
Cumberland 101 1.36x
Cambridgeshire 97 1.78x
Gloucestershire 95 0.56x
Durham 94 0.37x
Hampshire 84 0.48x
Cheshire 81 0.43x
Buckinghamshire 76 1.46x
Berkshire 68 1.05x
Worcestershire 68 0.60x
Dumfriesshire 54 2.84x
Huntingdonshire 53 3.10x
Kirkcudbrightshire 49 3.93x
Stirlingshire 43 1.35x
Northumberland 40 0.31x
Midlothian 36 0.31x
Devon 35 0.20x
Wiltshire 35 0.46x
Oxfordshire 32 0.60x
Somerset 32 0.23x
Caernarfonshire 31 0.89x
Angus 27 0.34x
Ayrshire 26 0.40x
Shropshire 24 0.32x
Westmorland 23 1.22x
Perthshire 21 0.54x
Clackmannanshire 16 2.25x
Denbighshire 16 0.49x
Fife 14 0.27x
Cornwall 13 0.13x
Dorset 13 0.23x
Isle of Man 13 0.81x
Renfrewshire 12 0.18x
Glamorgan 11 0.07x
Aberdeenshire 8 0.10x
Royal Navy 7 0.68x
Wigtownshire 7 0.61x
Dunbartonshire 6 0.26x
Roxburghshire 6 0.38x
Berwickshire 5 0.48x
Radnorshire 5 0.72x
Cardiganshire 4 0.19x
Monmouthshire 4 0.06x
Peeblesshire 4 0.99x
Ross-shire 4 0.17x
Argyllshire 3 0.13x
Herefordshire 2 0.06x
Inverness-shire 2 0.08x
Merionethshire 2 0.13x
Pembrokeshire 2 0.07x
West Lothian 2 0.15x
Carmarthenshire 1 0.03x
Kinross-shire 1 0.46x
Morayshire 1 0.07x
Selkirkshire 1 0.13x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Leicester St Margaret in Leicestershire leads with 132 Sharpes recorded in 1881 and an index of 5.67x.

Place Total Index
Leicester St Margaret 132 5.67x
Nottingham St Mary 98 3.26x
Islington London 96 1.15x
Camberwell 88 1.60x
Lambeth 81 1.08x
St Pancras London 81 1.17x
Aston 80 1.34x
Leicester St Mary 77 9.98x
Peterborough 69 11.77x
Loughborough 57 13.16x
Newark Upon Trent 56 13.42x
Hackney London 55 1.14x
Liverpool 50 0.81x
St Marylebone London 47 1.02x
Bermondsey 46 1.79x
Huddersfield 45 3.62x
St George Hanover 41 3.65x
Toxteth Park 41 1.19x
Sheffield 38 1.40x
West Ham 37 0.99x
Glasgow 35 0.71x
Sileby 34 56.46x
Luton 33 4.28x
Shoreditch London 33 0.88x
Tottenham 33 2.41x
Leeds 32 0.66x
Lewisham 32 2.04x
Boston 31 7.42x
Clerkenwell London 31 1.53x
Kensington London 31 0.65x
Chelsea London 30 1.16x
Ecclesall Bierlow 30 1.73x
Mile End Old Town 29 2.13x
St Peterat Gowts Lincoln 29 14.98x
Crowland 28 32.42x
Holy Trinity 28 1.36x
St Albans St Peter 28 13.98x
Westley 28 593.22x
Birmingham 27 0.37x
Dalby Great 27 201.34x
Kings Cliffe 27 71.50x
St Nicholas Lincoln 27 20.52x
Tichmarsh 27 99.05x
Brighton 26 0.89x
Grantham 26 14.49x
Hammersmith London 26 1.23x
Paddington London 26 0.82x
Ashby De La Zouch 25 11.30x
Hampstead London 25 1.86x
Kings Norton 25 2.48x
Oakham Lordshold 25 37.78x
Uppingham 25 33.17x
Barrow In Furness 24 1.73x
Belgrave 24 11.14x
Bethnal Green London 24 0.64x
Nether Hallam 24 2.08x
Troqueer 24 14.68x
West Derby 24 0.80x
Battersea 23 0.73x
Eskdale Wasdale 23 145.85x
Keighley 23 2.53x
Lutterworth 23 39.53x
Sculcoates 23 1.70x
Chesterfield 22 4.35x
East Leake 22 78.99x
Heaton Norris 22 3.78x
Kingsthorpe 22 24.44x
Wolverhampton 22 0.98x
Barony 21 0.30x
Bow London 21 1.92x
Deeping St Nicholas 21 52.08x
Deptford St Paul 21 0.93x
Hinckley 21 9.27x
Kirtling 21 86.78x
Millom 21 9.24x
St Giles In Fields 21 7.07x
Llanaelhaiarn 20 46.63x
Melton Mowbray 20 11.65x
Newington 20 0.63x
Ab Kettleby 19 280.24x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 519
Sarah 360
Elizabeth 348
Ann 165
Jane 157
Emma 142
Eliza 139
Annie 123
Alice 108
Ellen 105
Emily 103
Charlotte 70
Hannah 68
Martha 66
Louisa 65
Harriet 64
Fanny 62
Margaret 56
Ada 49
Clara 48
Florence 48
Caroline 47
Edith 44
Catherine 40
Maria 39
Harriett 36
Agnes 35
Kate 35
Lucy 33
Susan 32
Frances 30
Matilda 29
Anne 28
Elizth. 27
Minnie 24
Betsy 22
Sophia 22
Isabella 21
Amelia 20
Eleanor 20
Gertrude 20
Rebecca 20
Rose 19
Selina 19
Susannah 19
Esther 17
Ethel 17
Ruth 17
Julia 16
Lizzie 15

Top male names

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

Name Count
William 543
John 484
George 284
Thomas 254
James 237
Joseph 168
Charles 163
Henry 150
Arthur 109
Frederick 101
Samuel 95
Edward 94
Robert 93
Alfred 91
Richard 75
Harry 70
Walter 69
Herbert 45
Albert 38
Ernest 33
Wm. 33
Frank 32
Francis 29
Fred 29
Benjamin 25
David 21
Edwin 20
Daniel 18
Thos. 18
Tom 18
Stephen 17
Isaac 14
Frederic 13
Matthew 13
Fredrick 10
Alexander 9
Chas. 9
Edgar 9
Leonard 9
Percy 9
Jesse 8
Geo. 7
Granville 7
Jonathan 7
Peter 7
Amos 6
Christopher 6
Edmund 6
Fredk. 6
Joe 6

FAQ

Sharpe surname: questions and answers

How common was the Sharpe surname in 1881?

In 1881, 8,824 people were recorded with the Sharpe surname. That placed it at #477 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Sharpe surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 13,939 in 2016. That gives Sharpe a modern rank of #454.

What does the Sharpe surname mean?

A nickname-derived surname referring to a keen or quick-witted person, or someone with a pointed facial feature.

What does the Sharpe map show?

The map shows local surname concentration for the selected year. Darker areas have a stronger concentration of Sharpe 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.