Given name
Sheryl
“one who is greatly loved; a darling”·“from the bright clearing”
In English use, Sheryl is a variant of Cheryl. One English interpretation is “one who is greatly loved; a darling.” In English use, Sheryl has a related form in Shirley. One English interpretation is “from the bright clearing.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
In English use, Sheryl carries the interpretation “one who is greatly loved; a darling.” In English use, Sheryl is a variant of Cheryl. One English interpretation is “one who is greatly loved; a darling.” In English use, Sheryl has a related form in Shirley. One English interpretation is “from the bright clearing.”
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is English.
How it developed
In English use, Sheryl is used as a variant of Cheryl.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1921. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. In English use, Sheryl has a related form in Shirley. The history of Shirley gives this family its wider story. Charlotte Brontë’s Shirley gives its heroine a name her parents had chosen while expecting a boy. The novel helped establish feminine use, and the child actor Shirley Temple added another influential association in the 1930s and 1940s.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Sheryl through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 79,026
- 200 boys · 78,826 girls
- Most popular year
- 1957
- 4,144 babies
- 2025
- 13
- #8,281 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −21%
- Easing
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 13 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 8,281 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 21.2% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 4,133 in 1957. In 2025, New York had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (6). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 69,911 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.
Sheryl’s family of names
In English usage, Sheryl has a related form in Cheryl. Sheryl is a form of Cheryl. In English usage, Sheryl has a related form in Shirley.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 24
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 4
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Sheryl
- Sheryl SandbergAmerican technology executive, activist, and authorborn 1969
- Sheryl CrowAmerican musician (born 1962)
- Sheryl LeeAmerican actressborn 1967
- Sheryl SwoopesAmerican basketball player (born 1971)
- Sheryl Lee RalphAmerican actress and singerborn 1956
- Sheryl RubioVenezuelan actress, singer, model, composer and fashion designerborn 1992
- Sheryl SheinafiaIndonesian pop singer and actressborn 1996
- Sheryl WuDunnAmerican journalist and executiveborn 1959
- Sheryl Johnsonfield hockey playerborn 1957
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Sheryl, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Merry
“one who is lighthearted and joyful” · “filled with joy”
>99% girls
Chirley
“from the bright clearing”
>99% girls
Lecia
“noble” · “kind”
>99% girls
Beth
“my God is bountiful” · “God is my oath”
>99% girls
Licia
Licia is a variant of Lecia. In English use, Lecia carries the interpretation “woman of the nobility; truthful; having high moral character.”
>99% girls
Janis
Janis is used as a given name and a surname. Janis is connected with Janice and John.
7% boys · 93% girls
Pamela
“very strange” · “a woman who is as sweet as honey”
>99% girls
Darcie
“a dark beauty”
>99% girls