Given name
Cheryl
“one who is greatly loved; a darling”
Cheryl is used as a given name. One English interpretation is “one who is greatly loved; a darling.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One English interpretation is “one who is greatly loved; a darling.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is English.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1909. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Cheryl through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 440,517
- 978 boys · 439,539 girls
- Most popular year
- 1958
- 24,178 babies
- 2025
- 32
- #4,376 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −25%
- Easing
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 32 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 4,376 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 24.9% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 24,119 in 1958. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 372,341 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Cheryl’s family of names
In Cebuano usage, Cheryl has a diminutive in Cheche. In Cebuano usage, Cheryl has a related form in Sheryl. In English usage, Cheryl has a related form in Sheryl.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 19
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 6
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 8
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Cheryl
- CherAmerican musician, singer, actress and television personality (born 1946)
- CherylBritish singer, dancer, and television presenterborn 1983
- Cheryl HinesAmerican actressborn 1965
- Cheryl LaddAmerican actress, singer, and authorborn 1951
- Gates McFaddenAmerican actress and choreographerborn 1949
- Cheryl StrayedAmerican writerborn 1968
- Cheryl DunyeAmerican actress and director (born 1966)
- Cheryl MillerAmerican basketball player and coach (born 1964)
- Cheryl LynnAmerican singerborn 1957
Characters named Cheryl: Cheryl Blossom (fictional character of the Archie Comics universe).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Cheryl, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Sherill
“from the bright hill”
6% boys · 94% girls
Sherry
“one who is greatly loved; a darling”
>99% girls
Becky
“one who is bound to God”
>99% girls
Peri
Peri is a surname. It is used in English and Finnish.
>99% girls
Ginny
“one who is chaste; virginal”
>99% girls
Jill
“jack and Jill”
>99% girls
Sherri
“one who is greatly loved; a darling”
>99% girls
Laurel
Laurel is a feminine given name from English. It is used in English, Spanish, Tagalog, and Cebuano.
>99% girls