Shirley (name)


Shirley is a given name and a surname originating from the English place-name Shirley, which is derived from the Old English elements scire or scīr and lēah. The name makes reference to the open space where the moot was held. The surname Shirley became established as a female given name in 1849 due to its use in Charlotte Brontë's novel Shirley, in which the character explains that her parents had intended the family surname for a son. It was further popularized in 1851–52 by its pseudonymous use by California Gold Rush writer Louise Amelia Knapp Smith Clappe (Dame Shirley). It was eventually brought to its highest popularity, in the 1930s, by the fame of child star Shirley Temple.

Usage

Shirley was a well-used name throughout the Anglosphere during the 20th century. It was among the top 1,000 names used for newborn American girls between 1880 and 2008. It was among the top 100 names between 1918 and 1963 in the United States, and among the ten most popular names for American girls between 1927 and 1941. It reached peak popularity in 1935 and 1936, when it was the second most popular name given to newborn girls there. There were 133 newborn American girls who were given the name in 2022. The name was also among the top 1,000 names given to newborn American boys between 1880 and 1957, though the name was always given to more girls than boys. As a male name, Shirley reached the peak of popularity in 1935, when it was the 259th most popular name given to American boys. The name also ranked among the top 100 names for newborn girls in the United Kingdom between 1934 and 1964, among the top 1,000 names for girls in Canada between 1920 and 1965, among the top 100 names for girls in New Zealand between 1919 and 1964, and among the top 100 names in Australia during the same timeframe, until 1963. It was also among the top 1,000 names given to newborn girls in Brazil between 1930 and 2000, and ranked among the top 500 names for newborn girls in France in 1946 and again between 1974 and 2003.

Given name

Female

Shirley

Shirli

Shirlie

Shirlee

Male

Surname

Shirley is a surname, with pockets of Shirleys living in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Idaho, Kentucky, Mississippi, Utah, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Canada, New Zealand, Alaska, and parts of Great Britain. A work on the genealogy of the various branches of the Shirley family was published as Stemmata Shirleiana by E. P. Shirley in 1841. Their name comes from having lived in the parish of Shirley found in the counties of Derbyshire, Surrey, Hampshire and the West Midlands.

Fictional characters