Shirly
- Gender
- Girl
- Say it
- SHUR-lee
- Origin
- English
Shirly is a girls' name of English origin, meaning “bright clearing”. Too few babies were given it in the latest year to rank.
What does Shirly mean?
English: variant of Shirley, from an English place name
“bright clearing”
Variant of Shirley, which became a girl's name after Charlotte Brontë's 1849 novel Shirley.
Is Shirly a girl's or a boy's name?
Shirly is a girls' name.
How popular is Shirly in the US?
No girls in the US were given it in 2025, or too few to be listed. Its busiest year was 1936, with 31 girls. It first appears in the records in 1911.
Half of all the girls named Shirly in the US since 1880 were born between 1938 and 1965, the years shaded on the chart below.
Shirly in the US, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 5 | #16,210 |
| 2015 | 0 | – |
| 2014 | 0 | – |
| 2013 | 0 | – |
| 2012 | 7 | #13,477 |
| 2011 | 0 | – |
| 2010 | 5 | #16,985 |
| 2009 | 5 | #17,288 |
| 2008 | 23 | #5,952 |
| 2007 | 8 | #12,671 |
| 2006 | 7 | #13,601 |
| 2005 | 7 | #13,003 |
| 2004 | 0 | – |
| 2003 | 5 | #15,777 |
| 2002 | 0 | – |
| 2001 | 9 | #10,095 |
| 2000 | 6 | #13,147 |
| 1999 | 5 | #14,403 |
| 1998 | 0 | – |
| 1997 | 9 | #9,012 |
| 1996 | 6 | #11,801 |
| 1995 | 7 | #10,509 |
| 1994 | 7 | #10,563 |
| 1993 | 6 | #11,773 |
| 1992 | 6 | #11,730 |
| 1991 | 0 | – |
| 1990 | 0 | – |
| 1989 | 0 | – |
| 1988 | 6 | #10,381 |
| 1987 | 7 | #8,773 |
| 1986 | 0 | – |
| 1985 | 0 | – |
| 1984 | 0 | – |
| 1983 | 5 | #10,272 |
| 1982 | 7 | #8,222 |
| 1981 | 5 | #10,409 |
| 1980 | 5 | #10,390 |
| 1979 | 0 | – |
| 1978 | 0 | – |
| 1977 | 5 | #9,650 |
| 1976 | 0 | – |
| 1975 | 10 | #5,514 |
| 1974 | 6 | #7,678 |
| 1973 | 8 | #6,078 |
| 1972 | 10 | #5,108 |
| 1971 | 8 | #6,004 |
| 1970 | 8 | #5,817 |
| 1969 | 5 | #7,469 |
| 1968 | 6 | #6,244 |
| 1967 | 6 | #6,041 |
| 1966 | 12 | #3,739 |
| 1965 | 13 | #3,548 |
| 1964 | 23 | #2,599 |
| 1963 | 11 | #4,018 |
| 1962 | 19 | #2,813 |
| 1961 | 17 | #3,059 |
| 1960 | 18 | #2,903 |
| 1959 | 16 | #2,979 |
| 1958 | 14 | #3,231 |
| 1957 | 16 | #2,925 |
| 1956 | 12 | #3,492 |
| 1955 | 20 | #2,471 |
| 1954 | 19 | #2,518 |
| 1953 | 18 | #2,515 |
| 1952 | 16 | #2,670 |
| 1951 | 17 | #2,473 |
| 1950 | 20 | #2,184 |
| 1949 | 23 | #2,012 |
| 1948 | 20 | #2,187 |
| 1947 | 24 | #1,992 |
| 1946 | 24 | #1,859 |
| 1945 | 19 | #1,940 |
| 1944 | 16 | #2,198 |
| 1943 | 20 | #1,948 |
| 1942 | 25 | #1,667 |
| 1941 | 21 | #1,750 |
| 1940 | 22 | #1,682 |
| 1939 | 26 | #1,474 |
| 1938 | 23 | #1,596 |
| 1937 | 26 | #1,451 |
| 1936 | 31 | #1,296 |
| 1935 | 27 | #1,418 |
| 1934 | 20 | #1,697 |
| 1933 | 10 | #2,687 |
| 1932 | 9 | #3,045 |
| 1931 | 11 | #2,579 |
| 1930 | 10 | #2,844 |
| 1929 | 16 | #2,097 |
| 1928 | 12 | #2,622 |
| 1927 | 12 | #2,698 |
| 1926 | 8 | #3,563 |
| 1925 | 10 | #3,115 |
| 1924 | 11 | #2,972 |
| 1923 | 8 | #3,640 |
| 1922 | 8 | #3,653 |
| 1921 | 0 | – |
| 1920 | 7 | #3,955 |
| 1919 | 0 | – |
| 1918 | 0 | – |
| 1917 | 7 | #3,711 |
| 1916 | 5 | #4,415 |
| 1915 | 0 | – |
| 1914 | 5 | #3,617 |
| 1913 | 0 | – |
| 1912 | 0 | – |
| 1911 | 5 | #2,463 |
Names like Shirly
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Sally Mary Ruby Nancy Betty Beverly Dorothy Daisy Myra Frankie Bonnie June
Names related to Shirly
More English names
Lily Evelyn Hudson Ivy Harper Grace Violet Willow Poppy Riley Oakley Mason Cooper Hallie Hazel Carter
Sources
Figures from 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, “Shirly: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/shirly, updated 20 October 2026.