Sheeran i whanau i Halifax, West Yorkshire i te 17 o Hui-tanguru 1991. I a ia e tamariki ana, i neke ia me tona whanau mai i Hebden Bridge ki Framlingham i Suffolk. He tuakana tana ko Matthew te ingoa, e mahi ana hei kaiwaiata. Ko nga maatua o Sheeran, ko John raua ko Imogen, no Ranana. Ko ona tupuna tupuna he Irish, a kua kii a Sheeran ko tana papa no te whanau Katorika "nui rawa". Ko John he kaiwhakaako toi me te kaiwhakaako, a ko Imogen he kairangahau ahurea ka huri hei kaihoahoa whakapaipai. I whakahaerehia e ona maatua a Sheeran Lock, he kaitohutohu toi motuhake, mai i te 1990 ki te 2010. I waiata a Sheeran i roto i te whare karakia o te rohe mai i te wha o ona tau, i ako ki te purei waiata i a ia e noho ana i Rishworth School, ka tiimata te tuhi waiata i a ia e noho ana i te Kura o Thomas Mills i Framlingham. I whakaaetia ia i te National Theatre i Ranana hei taiohi i te Whare Taonga o Ingarangi
e mahi ana hei kaituhi.