Given name
Shirlyn
“from the bright clearing”
Shirlyn is a variant of Shirley. One English interpretation is “from the bright clearing.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Shirlyn is a variant of Shirley. One English interpretation is “from the bright clearing.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Shirlyn 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 1943. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. Shirlyn 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
Shirlyn through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 389
- 0 boys · 389 girls
- Most popular year
- 1951
- 19 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 7 in 2009. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 466 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.
Shirlyn’s family of names
Shirlyn has a related form in Shirley.
The ring: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 2
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Similar names
If you love Shirlyn, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Sharyn
“rose of Sharon” · “from the plains; a flowering shrub”
>99% girls
Shirli
“from the bright clearing”
>99% girls
Sharen
“rose of Sharon” · “from the plains; a flowering shrub”
>99% girls
Sherlie
“from the bright clearing”
>99% girls
Sharin
“rose of Sharon” · “from the plains; a flowering shrub”
>99% girls
Sherli
“from the bright clearing”
>99% girls
Geralyn
“one who rules with the spear”
>99% girls
Shirlie
“from the bright clearing”
>99% girls