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Sheriff Family History

Sheriff Surname Meaning

English and Scottish: occupational name or nickname from Middle English shirreve sher(r)eve sheref(fe) ‘sheriff officer of the Crown’ (Old English scīrgerēfa from scīr ‘shire county’ + (ge)rēfa ‘reeve’) literally the reeve (i.e. steward) of a shire.

Compare Reeve. Muslim (mainly Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Liberia): variant of Sharif. In Sierra Leone and Liberia, this name is found mainly among the Mandinka people.

Compare Sirleaf.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022


Similar surnames: 

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Where is the Sheriff family from?

You can see how Sheriff families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Sheriff family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Sheriff families were found in USA in 1880. In 1911 there were 44 Sheriff families living in Ontario. This was about 54% of all the recorded Sheriff's in Canada. Ontario had the highest population of Sheriff families in 1911.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Sheriff surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.
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What did your Sheriff ancestors do for a living?

In 1921, Farmer and Bookkeeper were the top reported jobs for men and women in the Canada named Sheriff. 50% of Sheriff men worked as a Farmer and 100% of Sheriff women worked as a Bookkeeper.

View Census Data for Sheriff | Data not to scale

*We display top occupations by gender to maintain their historical accuracy during times when men and women often performed different jobs.

Top Male Occupations In 1921

  • Farmer
    50%
  • Carpenter
    20%
  • Income
    10%
  • Labourer
    10%

Top Female Occupations In 1921

  • Bookkeeper
    100%

What Sheriff family records will you find?

Census Records

There are 38,000 census records available for the last name Sheriff. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Sheriff census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

Search Canadian census records for Sheriff

Passenger Lists

There are 4,000 immigration records available for the last name Sheriff. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in Canada, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

View all Sheriff immigration records

Draft Cards

There are 7,000 military records available for the last name Sheriff. For the veterans among your Sheriff ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

View all Sheriff military records

You've only scratched the surface of Sheriff family history

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What is the average Sheriff lifespan?

Between 1944 and 2004, in the United States, Sheriff life expectancy was at its lowest point in 1945, and highest in 1993. The average life expectancy for Sheriff in 1944 was 34, and 70 in 2004.

View Social Security Death Index (SSDI) for Sheriff

An unusually short lifespan might indicate that your Sheriff ancestors lived in harsh conditions. A short lifespan might also indicate health problems that were once prevalent in your family. The SSDI is a searchable database of more than 70 million names. You can find birthdates, death dates, addresses and more.

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