Given name
Shirli
“from the bright clearing”
Shirli is a variant of Shirley. One English interpretation is “from the bright clearing.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Shirli is a variant of Shirley. One English interpretation is “from the bright clearing.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Shirli is a variant of Shirley. An origin associated with Shirley is English.
Explained through its name family
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1935. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. Shirli 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
Shirli through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 22
- 0 boys · 22 girls
- Most popular year
- 1949
- 7 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 1953. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for girls was 7 in 1949. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 137 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.
The ring: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 1
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Similar names
If you love Shirli, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Sherli
“from the bright clearing”
>99% girls
Sherlie
“from the bright clearing”
>99% girls
Sharen
“rose of Sharon” · “from the plains; a flowering shrub”
>99% girls
Sharyn
“rose of Sharon” · “from the plains; a flowering shrub”
>99% girls
Shirlie
“from the bright clearing”
>99% girls
Sanda
“helper and defender of mankind”
>99% girls
Sandrea
“helper and defender of mankind”
>99% girls
Sheryl
“one who is greatly loved; a darling” · “from the bright clearing”
>99% girls