Given name & surname
Shirl
“from the bright clearing”
Shirl is a variant of Shirley. One English interpretation is “from the bright clearing.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Shirl is a variant of Shirley. One English interpretation is “from the bright clearing.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Shirl is a variant of Shirley. An origin associated with Shirley is English.
Explained through its name family
How it developed
In English usage, Shirl is a short form of Shirley.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1915. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. Shirl is a variant of Shirley. The history of Shirley gives this family its wider story. Charlotte Brontë’s Shirley gives its heroine a name her parents had chosen while expecting a boy. The novel helped establish feminine use, and the child actor Shirley Temple added another influential association in the 1930s and 1940s.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Shirl through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 1,771
- 448 boys · 1,323 girls
- Most popular year
- 1964
- 216 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for girls is 5 in 1983. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for girls was 210 in 1964. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 1,575 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Shirl’s family of names
In English usage, Shirl is a short form of Shirley. Shirl has a related form in Shirley.
Inner ring: spellings · outer: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 2
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
People named Shirl
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Shirl, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Sharone
“rose of Sharon” · “from the plains; a flowering shrub”
20% boys · 80% girls
Kim
“as precious as gold”
17% boys · 83% girls
Rolanda
“well-known throughout the land” · “from the renowned land”
1% boys · 99% girls
Jayne
“God is gracious”
1% boys · 99% girls
Jandy
“God is gracious”
7% boys · 93% girls
Jerrie
“a holy man; having great strength” · “one who rules with the spear”
6% boys · 94% girls
Joni
“God is gracious”
14% boys · 86% girls
Darcy
“having dark features”
6% boys · 94% girls