Shelley (name)

For other uses, see Shelley (name) (disambiguation).

In many baby name books, Shelley is listed as meaning "From the meadow on the ledge" or "clearing on a bank" sometimes truthful and pretty. It is Old English in origin. As with many other names (Courtney, Lindsey, etc.), Shelley is today a name given almost exclusively to girls after historically being male. Shelley is also a transferred surname used by those in Essex, Suffolk and Yorkshire, particularly in settlements where a wood/clearing was beside a ledge or hillside. Shelly is a common alternative spelling. It is featured in tile on the ceiling of the Library of Congress in Washington D.C.

Notable people with the name include the following.

Surname

• Adolphus Edward Shelley (1812–1854), the first Auditor-General in British Hong Kong
• Alex Shelley (born 1983), stage name of American wrestler Patrick Martin
• Alexander Shelley (born 1979), English conductor
• Arthur Shelley (fl.1905), British footballer
• Barbara Shelley (born 1932), English actress
• Bert Shelley (1899–1971), English footballer
• Brian Shelley (born 1981), Irish footballer
• Burke Shelley (born 1947), British musician, member of rock group Budgie
• Sir Bysshe Shelley, 1st Baronet (1731–1815), grandfather of Percy Bysshe Shelley
• Carla Shelley, film producer
• Carole Shelley (1939–2018), English actress
• Cindy Shelley (born 1960), British actress
• Danny Shelley (born 1990), English footballer
• David Shelley (1957–2015), American blues rock musician
• Deck Shelley (1906–1968), American football player
• Elbert Shelley (born 1964), American football player
• Sir Frederic Shelley, 8th Baronet (1809–1869), cleric and landowner
• George Shelley (singer) (born 1993), English singer, member of group Union J
• George Ernest Shelley (1840–1910), English geologist and ornithologist
• George M. Shelley (1849–1927), Mayor of Kansas City, Missouri
• Gerard Shelley (1891–1980), British linguist, author and translator
• Gladys Shelley (1911–2003), American lyricist and composer
• Harry Rowe Shelley (1858–1947), American composer
• Howard Shelley (born 1950), British pianist and conductor
• Hugh Shelley, American baseball player of the 1930s and 1940s
• Jack Shelley (footballer) (1905–1979), Australian footballer
• James Shelley (1884–1961), New Zealand university professor
• Jeremy Shelley (born 1990), American football placekicker
• Jim Shelley (disambiguation), multiple people
• Jody Shelley (born 1976), Canadian ice hockey player
• Joe Shelley (1892–1966), Australian footballer
• John Shelley (disambiguation), multiple people
• Joshua Shelley (1920–1990), American actor
• Kate Shelley (1863–1912), Irish-born US railroad heroine
• Kenneth Shelley (born 1951), American figure skater
• Kevin Shelley (born 1955), American politician
• Lee Shelley (born 1956), American fencer
• Lilian Shelley (1892–c.1933), English music hall entertainer
• Louise Shelley, American university professor
• Martha Shelley (born 1943), American writer
• Mary Shelley (1797–1851), English writer, author of the novel Frankenstein
• Mary Michael Shelley (born 1950), American folk artist
• Michael Shelley (disambiguation), multiple people
• Nancy Shelley (died 2010), Australian peace activist
• Norman Shelley (1903–1980), English actor
• Paul Shelley (born 1942), English actor
• Paul Shelley (politician) (born 1959), Canadian politician
• Percy Shelley (potter) (1860–1937), English potter
• Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792–1822), English poet, husband of Mary Shelley
• Percy Florence Shelley (1819–1889), son of Percy Bysshe Shelley and Mary Shelley
• Pete Shelley (born 1955), English musician, lead singer of the Buzzcocks
• Peter Shelley, British 1970s pop singer
• Rachel Shelley (born 1969), English actress
• Rebecca Shelley (1887–1984), American pacifist
• Rex Shelley (1930–2009), Eurasian Singaporean author
• Richard Shelley (died c.1586), English Catholic under Elizabeth I
• Richard Shelley (Grand Prior) (c.1513–c.1589), English diplomat
• Rick Shelley (1947–2001), American science fiction writer
• Ronald G. Shelley (1932–2003), philatelist
• Samuel Shelley (1750–1808), English miniaturist and water-colour painter
• Sidney Patrick Shelley (1880–1965), relative of Percy Bysshe Shelley
• Steve Shelley (born 1962), American drummer, member of group Sonic Youth
• Timothy Shelley (1753–1844), English politician, father of Percy Bysshe Shelley
• Walter Shelley, 17th-century politician, colonist of Jamestown, Virginia
• Wanda Shelley (born 1969), American television producer
• Sir William Shelley (c.1480–1549), English judge
• Shelley baronets

Given name

• Shelley Berman, American comedian and actor
• Shelley Chaplin, Australian wheelchair basketball player
• Shelley Duncan, former baseball player
• Shelley Duvall, American actress
• Shelley Hennig, American actress
• Shelley Jensen, American television director and producer
• Shelley Long, American actress
• Shelley Malil, Indian American actor
• Shelley Rudman, British athlete
• Shelley Sandie, Australian basketball player
• Shelley Tanaka, Canadian author and editor
• Shelley Winters, American actress

Code name

• F. F. E. Yeo-Thomas, S.O.E. operative had "SHELLEY" as a code name during World War II

Fictional characters

• James Shelley, the title character of Shelley (TV series)
• Shelley Levene, a main character in the stage play Glengarry Glen Ross, and the 1992 film of the same name
• Shelley Marsh, a secondary character on the Comedy Central show South Park
• Shelley Unwin, a character in the British TV series Coronation Street
• Shelley Winters, a main character in the popular webcomic Scary Go Round
• Shelly Johnson, one of the main characters in Twin Peaks

Animals

• Shelley (tortoise), a tortoise on Blue Peter

See also

• Shelly (disambiguation)