NameRealm
Shirley

Shirley: name meaning, origin & popularity

Meaning
“bright clearing”
Origin
Old English
Say it
SHUR-lee · 2 syllables
Used for
Girls

From an English surname and place name derived from Old English elements scir 'bright' and leah 'clearing, meadow'. It shifted from surname use into given-name use.

English namesNames meaning lightNames meaning natureVintage namesSurname-style names

How popular is Shirley?

202445.0 per million US babies
1880192019602000
Drag the line or the slider to read any year. Values are per million US births recorded by Social Security. Records before about 1937 undercount births, so early peaks can look taller than they were.

Babies named Shirley in 2024151

2024 rank#1,450 girls

Peak year1935

Total US babies since 1880695,797

Shirley is steady now but far below its 1935 peak.

Names like Shirley

Variants, related forms and names with the same roots.

  • Shirleebright meadow · English
  • Audreynoble strength · Old English
  • Ashleyash tree clearing · Old English
  • Oakleyoak clearing · Old English
  • Hadleyheather field · Old English
  • Blakelydark wood or clearing · Old English
  • KimberlyCyneburg's meadow · Old English
  • Presleypriest's meadow · Old English

Shirley questions

What does the name Shirley mean?

Shirley means "bright clearing". It comes from Old English. From an English surname and place name derived from Old English elements scir 'bright' and leah 'clearing, meadow'. It shifted from surname use into given-name use.

Is Shirley a boy or girl name?

Shirley is mainly a girl's name in US records (99% of uses since 1880).

How popular is Shirley?

151 US babies were named Shirley in 2024. Its peak year was 1935.

How do you pronounce Shirley?

Shirley is usually pronounced SHUR-lee.

Birth counts: US Social Security Administration national data, 1880–2024 (names given to 5+ babies of a sex in a year). How we write meanings.