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Shirley

Gender
Girl
UK rank, 2025
#4,276 for girls
US rank, 2025
#1,581 for girls

Shirley is a girls' name, meaning “county”. In 2025 it ranked 4,276th for girls in the UK (5 babies) and 1,581st for girls in the US (133 babies).

What does Shirley mean?

“county”

A male given name transferred from the surname.

From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Is Shirley a girl's or a boy's name?

Shirley is a girls' name. In 2025, it was given to 5 girls in the UK and 133 girls in the US. Too few boys were given it to be listed.

How popular is Shirley in the UK?

Rank in 2025
4,276th among girls
Babies in 2025
5 about 1 in 56,000 girls
Five-year trend
Steady up 11% in five years
Same name in a class
under 1% chance among 15 girls

In 2025, 5 girls in the UK were named Shirley, making it the 4,276th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 2,766th. Its busiest year was 2001, with 18 girls.

Half of all the girls named Shirley in the UK since 1996 were born between 2001 and 2016. It was already well used in 1996, when the records begin, so earlier girls aren't counted.

Among girls in 2025, it was 4,200th in England and Wales.

In the England and Wales top 100 for girls, which the ONS has published every ten years since 1904: 1934 (#10), 1944 (#39), 1954 (#40) and 1964 (#78).

1996Busiest: 18 in 20012025
Shirley in the UK, year by year
YearGirlsRank
20255#4,276
20248#3,076
20238#3,098
20227#3,347
20213#5,824
20209#2,766
20193#5,804
20187#3,344
20177#3,395
201613#2,224
20157#3,433
20148#3,031
20130–
201210#2,666
201110#2,582
20109#2,741
20096#3,603
20088#2,895
200710#2,354
200611#2,119
200514#1,692
200414#1,634
20035#3,233
20029#2,040
200118#1,204
200015#1,348
199916#1,298
199812#1,585
199711#1,664
199613#1,450

How popular is Shirley in the US?

Rank in 2025
1,581st among girls
Babies in 2025
133 about 1 in 12,000 girls
Five-year trend
Steady down 3% in five years
Same name in a class
under 1% chance among 15 girls

In 2025, 133 girls in the US were named Shirley, making it the 1,581st most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 1,545th. Its busiest year was 1935, with 42,366 girls.

Half of all the girls named Shirley in the US since 1880 were born between 1933 and 1949, the years shaded on the chart below.

Girls were 58% of the babies named Shirley in the US in 1883, and 98% in 1993.

1880Busiest: 42,366 in 19352025
Shirley in the US, year by year
YearGirlsRank
2025133#1,581
2024151#1,452
2023139#1,534
2022134#1,583
2021105#1,885
2020137#1,545
2019148#1,483
2018152#1,447
2017185#1,274
2016168#1,386
2015181#1,311
2014202#1,205
2013174#1,338
2012176#1,334
2011188#1,266
2010178#1,317
2009233#1,091
2008304#905
2007288#937
2006249#1,026
2005285#885
2004240#987
2003313#788
2002259#878
2001305#778
2000259#849
1999231#912
1998293#742
1997333#660
1996339#654
1995343#634
1994380#593
1993406#579
1992449#530
1991446#521
1990472#508
1989457#512
1988462#491
1987459#473
1986435#491
1985494#441
1984477#438
1983505#428
1982601#384
1981579#390
1980603#380
1979671#346
1978647#336
1977777#307
1976834#277
1975875#278
19741,010#254
19731,155#217
19721,334#209
19711,588#193
19701,629#198
19691,867#173
19682,142#150
19672,508#142
19662,919#123
19653,370#111
19643,967#103
19634,387#99
19624,869#96
19615,638#85
19606,411#70
19597,284#61
19588,088#52
19578,855#46
19569,429#41
19559,755#37
195410,909#33
195312,148#29
195212,529#28
195113,919#27
195015,891#19
194917,281#18
194816,121#20
194717,648#19
194617,870#18
194516,150#14
194416,309#15
194317,816#12
194217,750#12
194116,954#10
194017,881#9
193920,447#5
193823,766#5
193726,823#4
193635,161#2
193542,366#2
193422,841#4
193314,320#9
193214,476#9
193114,405#9
193014,775#11
192914,576#9
192814,215#10
192713,314#9
192611,762#14
192510,513#17
19249,489#19
19237,918#26
19226,407#39
19215,695#44
19204,713#56
19193,149#89
19182,654#97
19171,800#123
19161,245#160
19151,135#162
1914906#160
1913684#169
1912489#198
1911362#198
1910318#202
1909281#203
1908284#196
1907247#207
1906187#234
1905162#256
1904138#268
1903102#309
1902104#309
190195#305
1900110#322
189974#346
189870#372
189761#372
189655#383
189543#433
189447#407
189352#374
189258#346
189135#423
189040#400
188942#371
188832#439
188720#499
188616#556
188516#542
188418#479
188318#451
18829#634
18810–
18808#628

Names like Shirley

Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.

Dorothy, Eleanor, Nancy, Evelyn, Josephine, Elizabeth, Rosemary, Audrey, Billie, Mary, Bonnie, Harriet

Names related to Shirley

Sherly, Shirel, Sherley, Shirly

Sources

Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.

To cite this page: Nameling, “Shirley: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/shirley, updated 20 October 2026.