Sheriff Surname

4,271st
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 131,958 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
Sierra Leone
Highest density in:
Sierra Leone

Sheriff Surname Definition:

Offic. 'the Sheriff'; v. Shreeve.

Robert le Shirreve, Suffolk, 1273. Hundred Rolls.

Lena le Shireve, Suffolk, ibid.

John Schiref, Northumberland, ibid.

Thomas Shurreve, Somerset, 1 Edward III: Kirby's Quest.

Read More About This Surname

Sheriff Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Sierra Leone55,4631:12819
Liberia29,5931:14912
Nigeria10,5791:16,7451,610
Sri Lanka8,9171:2,334311
United States5,2781:68,6747,986
Ghana4,0181:6,725909
Libya3,4061:1,833558
Sudan2,5201:14,8852,042
Gambia2,3521:818130
England1,6071:34,6724,581
India1,3161:582,87628,318
Egypt9461:97,1848,316
United Arab Emirates6451:14,2051,746
Canada5891:62,5567,315
Australia5831:46,3055,791
Malawi5231:32,7334,882
Saudi Arabia5171:59,6828,852
South Africa4421:122,57414,496
Malaysia4331:68,1164,997
Morocco2041:169,00029,345
Tanzania1981:267,38221,207
Guyana1651:4,620816
Oman1571:23,4902,053
Jamaica1541:18,6361,680
New Zealand1261:35,9396,159
Bahrain1031:13,0932,472
Scotland981:54,6314,602
Mauritius811:15,9683,377
Netherlands731:231,33130,466
Singapore681:80,9963,278
Thailand611:1,158,006169,912
Kuwait581:65,5297,566
Iran541:1,421,89957,683
Pakistan511:3,502,82126,594
Ethiopia491:1,990,7408,024
Gibraltar411:828151
Germany341:2,367,808122,173
Ireland331:142,6956,688
Qatar311:76,0647,685
Wales271:114,6128,773
Sweden251:393,87027,867
Zimbabwe251:617,53046,943
France241:2,767,613196,808
Norway221:233,74025,571
Israel201:427,88233,464
Trinidad and Tobago191:71,7885,445
Austria181:473,08046,251
Northern Ireland171:108,5326,545
Denmark151:376,31425,792
Belgium131:884,35769,774
Brazil101:21,407,433350,627
Chile101:1,761,64727,489
Bangladesh91:17,706,30813,537
Somalia91:1,494,6733,608
Costa Rica81:597,5094,667
Italy81:7,644,586115,463
Afghanistan71:4,593,31223,122
China71:195,331,65210,124
Jordan71:1,263,20516,935
Algeria51:7,726,31057,379
Guinea51:2,366,7631,841
Kenya51:9,235,98055,978
United States Virgin Islands51:22,0752,767
Cameroon41:5,192,267135,173
Dominican Republic41:2,608,23320,941
DR Congo41:18,469,892182,906
Spain41:11,688,009116,470
Burkina Faso31:6,117,36722,156
Indonesia31:44,083,065698,220
Monaco31:12,3552,088
Switzerland31:2,737,638105,941
Venezuela31:10,068,02660,591
Bolivia21:5,308,21712,400
Czechia21:5,316,734169,646
Iceland21:190,0456,825
Japan21:63,922,14662,827
Maldives21:202,0864,973
Senegal21:7,289,6718,117
Uganda21:19,519,640189,114
Angola11:26,989,21411,853
Argentina11:42,743,414282,706
Azerbaijan11:9,649,12247,873
Barbados11:287,4482,772
Brunei11:418,7313,893
Chad11:13,592,19913,092
Comoros11:749,524685
Congo11:4,989,09634,171
Ecuador11:15,905,84650,210
Fiji11:894,3914,568
Greece11:11,079,790145,225
Grenada11:108,5351,793
Haiti11:10,683,90724,607
Hong Kong11:7,335,48316,643
Ivory Coast11:23,071,23276,679
Kyrgyzstan11:5,972,65499,197
Lebanon11:5,637,08332,436
Lesotho11:2,032,55823,402
Mauritania11:4,094,86338,869
Mexico11:124,126,205103,776
Peru11:31,784,12364,452
Philippines11:101,238,223404,861
Portugal11:10,418,24125,048
Saint Lucia11:178,7813,800
Tunisia11:610,62630,336
Turkey11:77,821,422191,047
Yemen11:26,425,29455,147
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Ireland211:210,9469,809
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England5941:41,0365,189
Scotland2351:15,9291,736
Wales71:224,0598,079
Guernsey71:4,665827
Jersey11:51,8823,898
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States7121:70,5327,602

Sheriff (51,741) may also be a first name.

Sheriff Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

Offic. 'the Sheriff'; v. Shreeve.

Robert le Shirreve, Suffolk, 1273. Hundred Rolls.

Lena le Shireve, Suffolk, ibid.

John Schiref, Northumberland, ibid.

Thomas Shurreve, Somerset, 1 Edward III: Kirby's Quest.

Johannes Schyref, 1379: Poll Tax of Yorkshire.'

Thomas le Shirreve. Calendarium Inquisitionum Post Mortem.

1786. Married — Alex. Sherriff and Mary Chilcott: St. George, Hanover Square.

A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames (1896) by Charles Wareing Endell Bardsley

From the office of shire-reeve, from Old English scir(ge)rëfa. Robert Schirraff recorded in Aberdeen, 1398 (CRA., p. 373) is probably Robertus Schirafe, juror on inquisition there in 1400 (REA., I, p. 202). Andrew Shinefs published his Poems, chiefly in the Scottish dialect, Edinburgh, 1790. Shiref 1634, Shirefe 1656, Sirreff 1688. The forms with -s may be genitive = Sheriff's son.

The Surnames of Scotland (1946) by George Fraser Black (1866-1948)

(English) The shire reeve, the chief civil officer of the crown in the county, a sheriff.

Dictionary of American Family Names (1956) by Elsdon Coles Smith

From the office, Anglo-Saxon scir-gerefa, i.e., "shire-reeve." The Domesday equivalent is vicecomes, which implies the deputy or substitute of a count, whose jurisdiction extended over a shire or county.

Patronymica Britannica (1860) by Mark Antony Lower

From the Old Norse, Greifi; nickname from the Anglo-Saxon, Geréfa; Engl. Reeve, Shirereeve; from the German, Schriefer; from the Danish, Schreve; a personal name.

British Family Names: Their Origin and Meaning (1903) by Henry Barber

Sheriff: a royal officer in the county, and only inserted here because the great noble was often nominated to be a Sheriff. Probably the surname Sheriff comes from some Sheriffs officer.

Family Names And Their Story (1913) by Sabine Baring-Gould

Sheriff Last Name Facts

Where Does The Last Name Sheriff Come From? nationality or country of origin

Sheriff (Arabic: شيريف, Marathi: शेरी) is more commonly found in Sierra Leone than any other country/territory. It can occur as a variant:. For other possible spellings of Sheriff click here.

How Common Is The Last Name Sheriff? popularity and diffusion

The surname is the 4,271st most frequently occurring family name globally, borne by approximately 1 in 55,226 people. The last name occurs mostly in Africa, where 84 percent of Sheriff live; 77 percent live in West Africa and 53 percent live in Atlantic-Niger Africa. It is also the 17,962nd most frequently used first name in the world, held by 51,741 people.

The last name Sheriff is most frequently occurring in Sierra Leone, where it is borne by 55,463 people, or 1 in 128. Other than Sierra Leone Sheriff exists in 105 countries. It also occurs in Liberia, where 22 percent reside and Nigeria, where 8 percent reside.

Sheriff Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The incidence of Sheriff has changed through the years. In The United States the number of people who held the Sheriff last name grew 741 percent between 1880 and 2014; in England it grew 271 percent between 1881 and 2014; in Scotland it decreased 58 percent between 1881 and 2014; in Ireland it grew 157 percent between 1901 and 2014 and in Wales it grew 386 percent between 1881 and 2014.

Sheriff Last Name Statistics demography

The religious adherence of those bearing the Sheriff surname is principally Presbyterian (81%) in Ireland, Muslim (50%) in Kenya and Muslim (92%) in Nigeria.

In The United States those bearing the Sheriff last name are 17.16% more likely to be registered Republicans than The US average, with 63.93% being registered with the political party.

The amount Sheriff earn in different countries varies markedly. In Norway they earn 40.24% more than the national average, earning 485,328 kr per year; in South Africa they earn 16.12% more than the national average, earning R 275,940 per year; in United States they earn 6.24% less than the national average, earning $40,456 USD per year and in Canada they earn 7.95% more than the national average, earning $53,632 CAD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

SurnameSimilarityWorldwide IncidencePrevalency
Sherriff936,792/
Sheriffe93230/
Scheriff93227/
Sherieff93116/
Sheriffs9391/
Sheariff936/
Sherifff936/
Sheraiff935/
Sheeriff932/
Shheriff932/
Shereiff931/
Sheroiff931/
Sheiriff931/
Sherif92317,300/
Seriff92158/
Sherriffs88545/
Sherriffe88125/
Sherrieff8811/
Sherreiff882/
Shaerriff881/
Scherriff881/
Shariff8652,945/
Sherief866,833/
Sherife861,490/
Shereif861,236/
Sherrif86972/
Sheraif86240/
Cheriff86188/
Shereff8695/
Shiriff8638/
Saeriff8632/
Sahriff8622/
Sheerif8615/
Scherif8613/
Shearif8611/
Sheyrif868/
Seeriff866/
Sgeriff866/
Sherift865/
Sheirif865/
Shoriff863/
Sceriff862/
Sherifs862/
Sehriff862/
Shherif861/
Sereiff861/
Sieriff861/
Shaerif861/
Sherifh861/
Sergiff861/
Sheryff861/
Shetrif861/
Shehrif861/
Serriff860/
Serif831,394/
Sharieff801,566/
Shirriff80161/
Sharriff8084/
Shareiff8019/
Cheriffe8018/
Sherrief8017/
Sherrife8016/
Sahariff8015/
Sherifhe8010/
Sherrifs805/
Scherief805/
Sharifff805/
Shahriff804/
Sherreff803/
Scherrif802/
Schariff801/
Schereff801/
Sherrisf801/
Sharaiff801/
Shearift801/
Sheireff801/
Shereeff801/
Sheeryff801/
Shiriffe801/
Shaariff801/
Sharif771,007,485/
Cherif77140,757/
Shorif7712,023/
Sheref775,889/
Sahrif77565/
Sariff77508/
Shirif77268/
Sherib77227/
Sereff7734/
Serife7732/
Sheryf7712/
Serief775/
Serrif775/
Sheriv774/
Serift773/
Saerif773/
Soerif772/
Şeriff771/
Soriff771/
Sierif771/
Shärif771/
Scerif771/
Sherifova75630/
Sharrieff75297/
Shirriffs7538/
Saharieff752/
Shahariff752/
Shaahriff751/
Sherreffs750/
Sharief7150,820/
Shareif7111,664/
Shereef719,075/
Sheriev711,501/
Sharrif71662/
Shahrif71370/
Chiriff71288/
Shareff71157/
Shireff71151/
Cheraif71115/
Cherife71114/
Saharif71113/
Cheirif7172/
Sharaif7136/
Scharif7131/
Sahrief7131/
Shaarif7129/
Sergeff7125/
Chereif7119/
Sherefe7116/
Cherrif7114/
Sharifh719/
Shairif719/
Sheriow715/
Sahraif715/
Sheriph713/
Shitrif713/
Seerift713/
Sharuif713/
Shharif713/
Shirrif712/
Shereft712/
Szariff712/
Sharipf712/
Cheruif712/
Shirife712/
Sarriff712/
Ssharif712/
Saariff712/
Shereiv711/
Shaeref711/
Sorriff711/
Sehreff711/
Sheeref711/
Serieyf711/
Chériff711/
Cheïrif711/
Sheiref711/
Sherryf711/
Cheerif711/
Shsarif711/
Scherib711/
Shirief711/
Shorief711/
Sharhif711/
Sjharif711/
Hsharif711/
Sherrib710/
Serrief710/
Seroifs710/
Shoeref710/
Ceeriff710/
Sarif6729,329/
Sorif673,673/
Serib671,140/
Şerif67585/
Zerif67318/
Shirreff67266/
Seref6798/
Sergeeff6798/
Šerif6774/
Chetreff6760/
Sirif6750/
Sharrief6729/
Shareeff6722/
Serifova679/
Sheiriev677/
Cheireif676/
Syrif674/
Seriw674/
Cerif673/
Schireff673/
Chiriffe672/
Shireffs671/
Chettrif671/
Shereefe671/
Shereefp671/
Serzheff671/
Shaharif671/
Saharief671/
Shahrief671/
Sheriphe671/
Shehriev671/
Shooyrif671/
Sharreif671/
Seriv671/
Sherreef671/
Shirhaif671/
Schoripf670/
Scherepf670/
Schoeref670/

Sheriff Name Transliterations

TransliterationICU LatinPercentage of Incidence
Sheriff in the Marathi language
शेरीseri66.67
शेरीनserina33.33
Sheriff in the Arabic language
شيريفshyryf-

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Footnotes

  • Surnames are taken as the first part of an person's inherited family name, caste, clan name or in some cases patronymic
  • Descriptions may contain details on the name's etymology, origin, ethnicity and history. They are largely reproduced from 3rd party sources; diligence is advised on accepting their validity - more information
  • Name distribution statistics are generated from a global database of over 4 billion people - more information
  • Heatmap: Dark red means there is a higher occurrence of the name, transitioning to light yellow signifies a progressively lower occurrence. Clicking on selected countries will show mapping at a regional level
  • Rank: Name are ranked by incidence using the ordinal ranking method; the name that occurs the most is assigned a rank of 1; name that occur less frequently receive an incremented rank; if two or more name occur the same number of times they are assigned the same rank and successive rank is incremented by the total preceeding names
  • Ethnic group cannot necessarily be determined by geographic occurrence
  • Similar: Names listed in the "Similar" section are phonetically similar and may not have any relation to Sheriff
  • To find out more about this surname's family history, lookup records on Family​Search, My​Heritage, FindMyPast and Ancestry. Further information may be obtained by DNA analysis