Given name & surname
Shirley
“from the bright clearing”
Shirley moved from a surname into first-name use, with a novel helping reshape its gender associations.
Meaning & origin
What it means
One English interpretation is “from the bright clearing.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is English.
How it developed
It entered given-name use through an existing surname.
The 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.
Shirley through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 695,934
- 9,551 boys · 686,383 girls
- Most popular year
- 1935
- 42,801 babies
- 2025
- 133
- #1,586 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −16%
- Easing
Boys, girls and both
The balance of boys and girls given this name has shifted over time. Recent births are 0% boys.
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 133 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 1,586 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 16.2% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 42,366 in 1935. In 2025, New York had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (14). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 360,153 as a first name in 2020; 25,421 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Shirley’s family of names
In English usage, Shirley has a short form in Shirl. In English usage, Shirley has a related form in Sheryl. In English usage, Shirley has a related form in Shelley.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 34
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Sherylvariant · ceb, English
- Shelleyvariant · English
- Sherlyvariant
- Shirleyelikely variant
- Shurleyvariant · English
- Sherleyvariant · English
- Shirlshort form · English
- Sherleevariant · English
Show 26 moreShow fewer
- Sherlievariant · English
- Sherlivariant · English
- Sherlevariant
- Shirlynvariant · English
- Shirleevariant · English
- Shirlivariant
- Shirlievariant
- Shirlyvariant · English
- Shirlynnvariant · English
- Shirlenevariant · English
- Shirlenavariant · English
- Shirleenvariant · English
- Shirellevariant · English
- Sherleenvariant · English
- Cherlyvariant · English
- Shirelyvariant · English
- Sshirleylikely variant
- Shirrleylikely variant
- Sherleighvariant
- Sherleavariant
- Shirleovariant
- Shirleighvariant · English
- Shurleevariant · English
- Shirlleyvariant · English
- Shirleavariant · English
- Sherrlievariant · English
Spellings & scripts 2
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 3
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Shirley
- Shirley TempleAmerican actress and diplomat (1928–2014)
- Shirley MacLaineAmerican actressborn 1934
- Shirley Chisholmfirst black woman elected to the United States Congress (1924-2005)
- Shirley BoothAmerican actress (1898–1992)
- Shirley BasseyWelsh singerborn 1937
- Shirley JonesAmerican singer and actressborn 1934
- Shirley JacksonAmerican writer (1916-1965)
- Shirley KnightAmerican actress (1936-2020)
- Shirley MansonScottish singerborn 1966
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Shirley, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Minnie
“determined protector”
>99% girls
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“woman from Verona” · “from the alder-tree grove”
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Marilyn
“a man of the lake”
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Marjorie
Marjorie is used as a form of Margaret.
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Philomena
“a friend of strength”
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“one who rules with the spear”
>99% girls
Etta
“ruler of the house”
>99% girls