Name meaning & stats
Shirley
Shirley means “bright clearing”. 345,806 US babies since 1940, peak 1940.
What it means
“bright clearing”
Well documented
Originally a surname.
In US birth records
Peak year: 1940
345,806 US babies were named Shirley between 1940 and 2025.
Careers
Not enough notable people named Shirley (or its spelling family) to say anything reliable yet. That's a gap in the data, not the name.
Spelling family
Shirley is the main spelling
- Shirley 100%
- Shirly <1%
- Shirlie <1%
- Shirely <1%
Names that sound the same, grouped by Heyotag. Share of US babies since 1940.
Name twins (peaked around 1940)