Shirley
Girl nameShirley has been given to 695,934 babies in the U.S. since 1880. It peaked in 1935. In 2025, about 1 in 12,085 girls was named Shirley.
Meaning & origin /ˈʃɜː(ɹ)li/
English place name from Old English sċīr (“county”) + lēah (“meadow”). Equivalent to shire +‎ -ley (“lea”)API. More at shire, leigh.
Origin: surnames
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Popularity over time births per year, 1880–2025
Total babies
695,934
Peak year
1935 (42,801 babies)
Rank in 2025
Below top 1000
First recorded
1880
10-year trend
▼ -27%
Gender split
99% girls / 1% boys
Rank through the decades
Shirley's rank among U.S. girl names at 25-year milestones.
| Year | Girls rank | Boys rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1900 | #324 | #401 |
| 1925 | #17 | #402 |
| 1950 | #19 | #760 |
| 1975 | #278 | — |
| 2000 | #851 | — |
— means outside the top 1000 that year.
Spellings & variants
Names one letter away from Shirley — alternate spellings parents actually use.
Famous people named Shirley
Shirley MacLaine
American actress
Shirley Temple
American actress and diplomat (1928–2014)
Shirley Booth
American actress (1898–1992)
Shirley Chisholm
First black woman elected to the United States Congress (1924-2005)
Notability data from Wikidata (CC0).
Names with a similar vibe
Same primary gender, peaked around the same years, and roughly as common as Shirley.
FAQ
How popular is the name Shirley?
Shirley has been given to 695,934 babies in the U.S. since 1880. It ranked below the top 1000 in 2025.
When did the name Shirley peak?
Shirley peaked in 1935, when 42,801 babies were given the name.
Is Shirley a girl or boy name?
Shirley is primarily a girl name (99% of babies named Shirley are girls).
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