Sharifi is a common Muslim and, to a lesser extent, Jewish, surname among Persian Iranians and Pakistanis. Among Arabs, the name takes the form al-Sharifi, which is a common surname in Iraq.
Al-Sharifi is a well-known surname in the holy city of Najaf. It usually means the "honorables". Loosely translated, it means "of high-class" or "wealthy".
In the city of Hamedan in Iran, Sharifi is a very old and big family with many sub-families such as Sharifi-Amina, Sharifi-Rahnamoon, Sharifi-Minoo, Sharifi-Monzavi. There are other big families in this city like Mansour and Izadi. Mahmoud Sharifi Amina is a poet whose contributions to the folklore poetry of Hamedan is notable. AmirAli Sharifi is also a photographer and computer scientist from this family based in Canada.
In fiction, it is the name of major characters Jennifer Sharifi and Miranda Sharifi in Nancy Kress's Sleepless series (Beggars in Spain, Beggars and Choosers, and Beggars Ride).