Shari
Shari was the 11780th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 8 babies. Its best year was 1961, when it ranked 142nd with 3,117 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 1,726 places. More babies were named Shari in the 1960s than in any other decade.
Meaning from French chérie, "darling" · French, American English
Say it SHAIR-ee /ˈʃɛri/
- Rank in 2025
- #11,780 girls, up 1,490 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 8girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 19613,117 babies
- Total since 1880
- 40,973babies recorded
What does the name Shari mean?
Shari is an English name inspired by French chérie, "darling, dear one", according to Wikipedia, which also notes its use as a pet form of names like Sharon and Cheryl; Wiktionary calls it a diminutive of Sharon and a variant of Sherry. Sharon is a biblical place-name, the coastal plain of Israel. Shari was most popular in the US around 1960; ventriloquist Shari Lewis is a well-known bearer.
chérie (French, “darling”)שָׁרוֹן (Hebrew, “Sharon, the coastal plain”)
How sure is this? Probable. Shari is a modern name with overlapping sources (chérie, Sharon, Sherry).
Related names: Sherry, Sharon, Cheri, Sherri.
See also: American names.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Shari', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation)
- Wiktionary, entry 'Sharon', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation)
- Wikipedia, 'Shari (given name)', Wikipedia (Wikimedia Foundation)
Shari popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 46 since 1959.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #11,780 | 8 |
| 2020 | #13,270 | 7 |
| 2010 | #6,155 | 22 |
| 2000 | #3,509 | 38 |
| 1990 | #945 | 201 |
| 1980 | #539 | 350 |
| 1970 | #257 | 1,200 |
| 1960 | #195 | 1,888 |
| 1950 | #335 | 534 |
| 1940 | #878 | 67 |
| 1930 | #3,304 | 9 |
| 1920 | — | — |
| 1910 | — | — |
| 1900 | — | — |
| 1890 | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Shari, counting every spelling?
Shari has no other common spelling that sounds the same.
How many kids will share the name Shari?
8 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Shari (0.00 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Shari born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 1,057 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Shari.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Shari?
About 35,400 people born in the US named Shari are alive today, with a median age of 61; half are between 54 and 65. That makes Shari a name most people associate with older generations.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Shari: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Shari, they share its era and feel.
Shari is also a nickname for Sharon.
Questions about the name Shari
What does Shari mean?
Shari means “from French chérie, "darling"” (French, American English origin). Certainty: probable.
How popular is the name Shari?
Shari was the 11780th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 8 babies. Its best year was 1961, when it ranked 142nd with 3,117 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 1,726 places. More babies were named Shari in the 1960s than in any other decade.
Is Shari a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Shari in the US.