NameCensus.

UK surname

Sherer

An occupational surname for a cloth cutter or tailor, derived from the Middle English word "shere" meaning "to cut."

In the 1881 census there were 59 people recorded with the Sherer surname, ranking it #25,281 among surnames in the records. By 2016, the modern count was 102, ranked #30,722, down from #25,281 in 1881.

The strongest historical links point to Bristol City: St Mary Redcliff, Bedminster and London parishes. In the modern distribution records, the strongest local clusters include St. Helens, Rochford and The Vale of Glamorgan.

Across the surname records, the highest recorded count for Sherer is 125 in 1861. Compared with 1881, the name has grown by 72.9%.

1881 census count

59

Ranked #25,281

Modern count

102

2016, ranked #30,722

Peak year

1861

125 bearers

Map years

4

1861 to 2016

Key insights

  • Sherer had 59 recorded bearers in 1881, making it the #25,281 surname in that year.
  • The latest modern count shown here is 102 in 2016, ranked #30,722.
  • Within the historical census years, the highest count was 125 in 1861.
  • The contemporary neighbourhood profile most associated with the surname is Small Town Suburbia.

Sherer surname distribution map

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

Distribution map

Sherer surname density by area, 2016 modern.

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Lower densityMedium densityHigh density

Timeline

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Sherer 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 77 #19,998
1861 historical 125 #17,678
1881 historical 59 #25,281
1891 historical 113 #22,162
1901 historical 92 #23,800
1911 historical 75 #25,322
1997 modern 109 #25,650
1998 modern 104 #26,981
1999 modern 101 #27,617
2000 modern 107 #26,700
2001 modern 99 #27,534
2002 modern 110 #26,412
2003 modern 105 #26,940
2004 modern 100 #27,964
2005 modern 93 #29,133
2006 modern 98 #28,621
2007 modern 99 #28,852
2008 modern 107 #27,844
2009 modern 106 #28,666
2010 modern 109 #28,831
2011 modern 110 #28,478
2012 modern 108 #28,849
2013 modern 104 #30,076
2014 modern 103 #30,539
2015 modern 101 #30,816
2016 modern 102 #30,722

Geography

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Where Sherers are most common

Historical parish links are strongest around Bristol City: St Mary Redcliff, Bedminster, London parishes, Kirk Ella (Willerby, Kirk Ella, West Ella), North Ferriby (Swanland) and Lambeth. These are the places where the surname stands out most clearly in the older records.

The modern local-area list points to St. Helens, Rochford, The Vale of Glamorgan, Bromley and Hillingdon. 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 Bristol City: St Mary Redcliff Gloucestershire
2 Bedminster Somerset
3 London parishes London 3
4 Kirk Ella (Willerby, Kirk Ella, West Ella), North Ferriby (Swanland) Yorkshire, East Riding
5 Lambeth London (South Districts)

Top modern areas

Rank Area District
1 St. Helens 022 St. Helens
2 Rochford 001 Rochford
3 The Vale of Glamorgan 011 Vale of Glamorgan
4 Bromley 027 Bromley
5 Hillingdon 022 Hillingdon

Forenames

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First names often paired with Sherer

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

Modern profile

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Neighbourhood profile for Sherer

Modern surname records can be compared with neighbourhood classifications. For Sherer, 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

Retired Professionals

Group

Small Town Suburbia

Nationally, the Sherer surname is most associated with neighbourhoods classed as Small Town Suburbia, within Retired Professionals. This does not mean every Sherer 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 is predominantly comprised of married couples with no resident dependent children, living in areas characterised neither by under-occupancy nor overcrowding throughout the UK in or adjacent to small towns. White ethnic groups and affiliation with Christianity predominates. Housing tends to be predominantly semi-detached or detached and workers are employed principally in managerial and professional occupations, with semi-skilled occupations also in evidence. These areas of the Supergroup are of higher population density.

Wider pattern

Typically married but no longer with resident dependent children, these well-educated households either remain working in their managerial, professional, administrative or other skilled occupations, or are retired from them – the modal individual age is beyond normal retirement age. Underoccupied detached and semi-detached properties predominate, and unpaid care is more prevalent than reported disability. The prevalence of this Supergroup outside most urban conurbations indicates that rural lifestyles prevail, typically sustained by using two or more cars per household.

London neighbourhood type

London Output Area Classification

Supergroup

Older Residents in Owner-Occupied Suburbs

Group

Professional Periphery

Within London, Sherer is most associated with areas classed as Professional Periphery, 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

These neighbourhoods predominantly house residents aged 45+, with many aged 85+. Most employed residents work in senior roles, and relatively few work in unskilled jobs. Terraced housing is comparatively rare, but communal living is more common. More residents identify as of Indian ethnicity and more affiliate with non-Christian religions. Disability levels are below the Supergroup average.

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

Sherer 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

Sherer falls in decile 9 for neighbourhood deprivation. This puts the surname towards the less deprived end of the index.

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

9
More deprived Less deprived

Broadband speed

Fixed broadband download speed

The modern neighbourhood pattern for Sherer is most associated with a typical fixed broadband download band of Over 70 mbit/s.

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

10
Slower band Faster band

Area snapshot

Ethnic group estimate

Most common ethnic group estimate
White - British

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

Meaning and origin of Sherer

The surname Sherer has its origins in Germany, with the earliest recorded examples dating back to the 16th century. The name is derived from the Middle High German word "scherer," which means "shaver" or "barber." It is believed that the name was initially an occupational surname, referring to individuals who worked as barbers or hair-cutters.

One of the earliest known references to the name Sherer can be found in the records of the city of Nuremberg, where a certain Hans Sherer was mentioned in a document from 1532. Another early mention of the name comes from the town of Augsburg, where a Johann Sherer was recorded as a resident in 1547.

During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Sherer name began to spread across various regions of Germany, with families establishing themselves in cities such as Berlin, Hamburg, and Cologne. Notable individuals with this surname during this period include Johann Michael Sherer (1673-1743), a renowned theologian and author from Nuremberg, and Anna Maria Sherer (1722-1789), a celebrated artist from Berlin.

As German immigrants started to migrate to other parts of Europe and North America in the 19th century, the Sherer name traveled with them. One notable figure from this era was Friedrich Wilhelm Sherer (1815-1892), a German-born American politician who served as a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly.

In the 20th century, the Sherer name continued to be represented by several notable individuals, such as the American author and editor Walter Sherer (1903-1988) and the German-American artist and illustrator Harry Sherer (1917-2006).

While the name Sherer is most commonly associated with its German roots, it has also been adopted by families in other countries, including France and England, where variations such as Cherier and Sharer have been recorded.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

1881 census detail

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Sherer families in the 1881 census

These tables use 1881 census entries for people recorded with the Sherer 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. Surrey leads with 17 Sherers recorded in 1881 and an index of 5.50x.

County Total Index
Surrey 17 5.50x
Lancashire 10 1.33x
Middlesex 8 1.26x
Channel Islands 6 31.93x
Yorkshire 6 0.96x
Somerset 5 4.90x
Essex 4 3.20x
Aberdeenshire 2 3.41x
Renfrewshire 2 4.07x
Cheshire 1 0.71x
Durham 1 0.53x
Lanarkshire 1 0.49x
Roxburghshire 1 8.71x
Warwickshire 1 0.63x

Top districts and towns

Districts give a more local view than counties. Total shows raw records, while frequency and index show local concentration. Lambeth in Surrey leads with 7 Sherers recorded in 1881 and an index of 12.66x.

Place Total Index
Lambeth 7 12.66x
Openshaw 7 198.86x
Newington 6 346.82x
Rotherhithe 5 63.86x
St Helier 5 81.70x
Bedminster 4 41.71x
West Ham 4 14.48x
Manchester 3 8.87x
Aberdeen Old Machar 2 16.31x
Bermondsey 2 10.60x
Port Glasgow 2 84.03x
St Mary At Hill London 2 5000.00x
St Pancras London 2 3.92x
Barony 1 1.93x
Bathwick 1 88.50x
Budbrooke 1 625.00x
Camberwell 1 2.47x
Charterhouse London 1 333.33x
Chelsea London 1 5.24x
Hyde 1 24.21x
Melrose 1 101.01x
Penge 1 24.69x
Richmond 1 23.09x
St George In East 1 23.20x
St Saviour 1 96.15x
Sunderland 1 30.03x
Westminster St James 1 15.34x

Top female names

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

Name Count
Mary 4
Alice 2
Elizabeth 2
Ellen 2
Florence 2
Harriet 2
Audrey 1
Beatrice 1
Carmelia 1
Celia 1
Charlotte 1
Edith 1
Emma 1
Fanny 1
Gurtrude 1
Isabella 1
Jane 1
Julia 1
Lucy 1
Mabel 1
Marion 1
Martha 1
May 1
Rachael 1
Rose 1
Wilhelmine 1

Top male names

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

Name Count
Charles 4
William 4
James 3
Franciss 2
John 2
Alfred 1
C. 1
Henry 1
Herbert 1
Joseph 1
Manuel 1
Stephen 1

Top occupations

Occupational titles are kept as recorded and later transcribed, so related jobs, spelling variants and mistakes stay separate. Scholar was the census term for a child in education. That means the other rows often tell you more about adult work in Sherer households.

FAQ

Sherer surname: questions and answers

How common was the Sherer surname in 1881?

In 1881, 59 people were recorded with the Sherer surname. That placed it at #25,281 in the surname rankings for that year.

How common is the Sherer surname today?

The latest modern count shown here is 102 in 2016. That gives Sherer a modern rank of #30,722.

What does the Sherer surname mean?

An occupational surname for a cloth cutter or tailor, derived from the Middle English word "shere" meaning "to cut."

What does the Sherer map show?

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