girl's name
Shari
SHAR-ee
- Origin Hebrew
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 2
- Letters 5
- Popularity Rare
- Births on record 41,108
Scotland
#376
1992 births
Shari means a plain, if it comes from Sharon — the Hebrew names the fertile coastal strip of Israel, so the rose of Sharon is a region's flower rather than a person's. The rose of Sharon is that region's wildflower.
- Shari is a name of Hebrew origin.
- Peaked in 1961, when 3,127 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 414,422 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1927.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Shari over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1920s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1920s | 27 |
| 1930s | 323 |
| 1940s | 2,031 |
| 1950s | 6,465 |
| 1960s | 20,551 |
| 1970s | 6,445 |
| 1980s | 3,630 |
| 1990s | 1,038 |
| 2000s | 295 |
| 2010s | 127 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 41 |
What Shari means
Shari means a plain or flat land, taken from Sharon. A route through the French chérie, darling, is also proposed and would make it unrelated to Hebrew.
Where Shari comes from
Shari is generally a short form of Sharon, the Hebrew Sharon — the fertile coastal plain running north from Jaffa, named from a root meaning flat or level. The rose of Sharon in the Song of Songs is a wildflower of that region rather than a rose. Alternatively Shari respells Sherry or Cherie, from the French chérie, darling, which Sheri elsewhere on this site follows. The two accounts share nothing.
Shari in use
Shari peaked in the United States in 1961, when 3,127 babies were registered, and is falling in our data. It charts in exactly one of the six markets we track, at 11850th in the United States on 8 births, across 41,108 lifetime births. That is a fall from 3,127 to 8 in sixty-four years, and our records carry the name from 1927.
How popular is Shari?
In 2025, Shari was given to 8 babies in the United States. It is a rare choice.
Where Shari is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Shari
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Shari also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Shari over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Shari in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Shari
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Shari — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Shari
What does the name Shari mean?
A plain — the Hebrew Sharon, the fertile coastal strip north of Jaffa.
Is the rose of Sharon a rose?
No — a wildflower of that region, named for the place.
Is there a French origin?
Shari may instead respell Sherry, from chérie, darling. Sheri follows that route.
How popular is Shari?
11850th in the United States, down from a 1961 peak of 3,127 births.
Is Shari a girl's or a boy's name?
Shari is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Shari?
Shari has 2 syllables.
Is Shari a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Shari currently ranks #11,850 in the United States. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.