Shirley
About Shirley
Shirley Temple almost single-handedly lifted the gloom of the Great Depression, and in tribute (and perhaps wishing for a similarly curly-headed, dimpled darling of their own), thousands of parents of that generation gave their little girls her name. In 1935, Shirley was the second most popular girls' name in the country with more than 42,000 babies named Shirley.
In an earlier time Shirley was used primarily for boys, but the tide turned with the publication of Charlotte Bronte's novel Shirley in 1849, the story of a character whose parents had selected the name for a boy child, then decided to use it anyway when he turned out to be a she.
In addition to Shirley Temple, there have been Shirleys MacLaine and Jones and writer Shirley Jackson, as well as rocker Shirley Manson.
Pronounced SHUR-lee.
As of October 2026, Shirley ranked #1586 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #2 in 1935, Nameberry popularity #587.
Editor: Sophie Kihm
Sources: US popularity data is from the Social Security Administration. Meanings and origins are from Nameberry's name references.
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #1,213 | 202 | 113.1 |
| 2015 | #1,313 | 181 | 101.4 |
| 2016 | #1,393 | 168 | 94.8 |
| 2017 | #1,278 | 185 | 107.2 |
| 2018 | #1,450 | 152 | 89.4 |
| 2019 | #1,486 | 148 | 88.2 |
| 2020 | #1,549 | 137 | 84.7 |
| 2021 | #1,892 | 105 | 64 |
| 2022 | #1,588 | 134 | 81.7 |
| 2023 | #1,539 | 139 | 86.6 |
| 2024 | #1,453 | 151 | 93.2 |
| 2025 | #1,586 | 133 | 82.7 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Shirley.
- Gladys
- Norma
- Georgienne
- Pauline
- Bessie
- Sallie
- Roberta
- Barbara
- Doris
- Susie
- Dora
- Wilma
- Bernice
- Shoshannah
- Edna
- Meg
- Bertha
- Judy
- Wanda
- Alberta
Shirley on lists
Famous Shirleys
- Shirley Temple Black
American actress and diplomat
- Shirley MacLaine (born Shirley MacLean Beaty)
American actress
- Shirley Hardie Jackson
American author
- Shirley Ann Manson
Scottish lead singer of band Garbage
- Shirley Henderson
Scottish actress
- Shirley Mae Jones
American actress
- Shirley Veronica Bassey
Welsh singer
- Shirley Anita St. Hill Chisholm
first black U.S. Congresswoman (New York)
- Shirley Elizabeth Collins
English folk singer
- Shirley Clarke
American film director
- Shirley Lynn Phelps
Roper, American lawyer and activist
- Shirley Booth (born Marjory Ford)
American actress
- Shirley Frances Babashoff
American swimmer
- Shirley Natasja Clamp
Swedish pop singer
- Shirley Kwan (Shuyi)
Hong Kong singer
- Shirley Knight
American actress
- Shirley Hubertina Maria Adriana Kocaçınar
Turkish footballer
- Shirley Vivian Teresa Brittain Williams
Baroness Williams of Crosby, British politician
- Shirley Zwerus
Dutch singer and pianist
- Shirley Chung
Chinese,American chef
- Shirley Yeung (Sze
ki), Hong Kong actress
- Shirley Douglas
Canadian actress, mother of actor Kiefer Sutherland
Shirley in pop culture
- Shirley Feeney
character on TV's "Laverne & Shirley"
- Shirley Keeldar
main character in "Shirley," by Charlotte Bronte
- Shirley Bennett
character on TV's "Community"
- Shirley Ryan
character on TV's "Love Child"
- Shirley Partridge
main character on TV's "The Partridge Family," played by Shirley Jones
- Shirley Miller
main character on TV's "Shirley," played by Shirley Jones
- Shirley Brahms
character in British TV series Are You Being Served?
- Shirley the Loon
character in Tiny Toon Adventures
- Shirley Fenette
a character in the anime Code Geass
- Shirley Yeager
character in anime Strike Witches
- Shirley
character in The Jimmy Timmy Power Hour 3
- Shirley
a hairdresser in the videogame MySims
- Shirley Fennes
a character in the videogame Tales of Legendia
- Shirley
a main character in animated TV series "Shaun the Sheep"
- Shirley Taylorson
character in video game Acidic
- Shirley Yang
character in "Ghost Blows Out the Light" by Zhang Muye
- Anne Shirley
main character in the "Anne of Green Gables" series, who had a son named Shirley Blythe
- Hotel Shirley
Sierra Madre, California, built in 1911, restored in 1998
- Shirley Crain
character in "The Haunting of Hill House"