Shirley (name)

Shirley
Origin
Word/name	Anglo-Saxon
Meaning	habitational name for one who lived in one of the parishes called Shirley in the counties of Derbyshire, Surrey, Hampshire and the West Midlands.
Region of origin	England

Shirley
	Shirley Temple with James Dunn in the 1934 film Bright Eyes.
Gender	Unisex
Language(s)	English
Origin
Language(s)	Old English
Word/name	Combination of scire or scīr and lēah
Meaning	transferred use of an English surname or place name
Region of origin	England
Other names
Short form(s)	Shirl
Nickname(s)	Shelley, Shelly
Related names	Shurley, Shipley

Shirley is a given name and a surname originating from the English place-name Shirley, which is derived from the Old English elements scire ("shire") or scīr ("bright, clear") and lēah ("wood, clearing, meadow, enclosure"). The name makes reference to the open space where the moot (an early English assembly of freemen which met to administer justice and discuss community issues) 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.^[1]^[2]

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.^[3] 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.^[4]

Given name

Female

Shirley (born 1946), Dutch singer
Shirley Abicair (born 1928), Australian singer, musician, actress and author
Shirley Abrahamson (1933–2020), American judge
Shirley Andrews (1915–2001), Australian biochemist
Shirley Annan (1940–2017), New Zealand netball player
Shirley Ardener, Cameroonian researcher
Shirley Armstrong (1930–2018), Irish fencer
Shirley Ascott (1930–1995), British sprint canoer
Shirley Babashoff (born 1957), American swimmer
Shirley Baker (1932–2014), British photographer
Shirley Ballas (born 1960), English ballroom dancer
Shirley Banfield (born 1937), Australian cricket player
Shirley Barber (1935–2023), English author
Shirley Barker (1911–1965), American author
Shirley Barlow, English classicist
Shirley Barrett (born 1961), Australian film director
Shirley Barrie (1945–2018), Canadian playwright
Shirley Bassey (born 1937), Welsh singer
Shirley Bear (born 1936), Tobique First Nation artist
Shirley Becke (1917–2011), British police officer
Shirley Berruz (born 1991), Ecuadorian footballer
Shirley Blumberg (born 1952), Canadian architect
Shirley Bond (born 1956), Canadian politician
Shirley Bonne (born 1934), American actress and model
Shirley Booth (1898–1992), American actress
Shirley Booz (1927–2009), American model and dancer
Shirley Borhauer (1926–2013), American politician
Shirley Ayorkor Botchway (born 1963), Ghanaian politician
Shirley Bottolfsen (1934–2021), Irish woman
Shirley Bousquet (born 1976), French actress
Shirley D. Bowler (born 1949), American writer, editor and politician
Shirley Braha (born 1982), American television producer
Shirley Brasher (born 1934), English tennis player
Shirley Breeden, American politician
Shirley Brifman (1935–1972), Australian prostitute and brothel madam
Shirley Briggs (1918–2004), American artist, photographer, writer, and naturalist
Shirley Brill (born 1982), Israeli clarinetist
Shirley Brown (born 1947), American R&B singer
Shirley Brown (Australian author) (born 1934), Australian author
Shirley Brown (Florida politician), American politician
Shirley Burgess (born c. 1934), British sprinter
Shirley Burkovich (1933–2022), American baseball player
Shirley Burman (born 1934), American photographer
Shirley Caesar (born 1938), American gospel singer
Shirley Cain (born 1935), British actress
Shirley Aley Campbell (1925–2018), American painter
Shirley Carr (1929–2010), Canadian political leader
Shirley Cawley (born 1932), British athlete
Shirley Cheechoo (born 1952), Canadian Cree actress, writer, producer, director, and visual artist
Shirley Chisholm (1924–2005), American politician, educator and author, first African-American woman elected to Congress
Shirley Clamp (born 1973), Swedish singer
Shirley Bell Cole (1920–2010), American actress
Shirley Collins (born 1935), English folk singer
Shirley Collins (politician) (born 1952), Canadian politician
Shirley Curry (born 1936), American YouTuber and gamer.
Shirley Douglas (1934–2020), Canadian actress and activist
Shirley Duguay (1962–1994), Canadian murder victim
Shirley Dynevor (1933–2023), Welsh actress
Shirley Eaton (born 1937), English actress, model and author
Shirley Englehorn (1940–2022), American golfer
Shirley Adele Field (1923–1995), American politician and judge
Shirley Anne Field (1936–2023), English actress
Shirley Bunnie Foy (1936–2016), American singer
Shirley M. Frye, American mathematics educator
Shirley Fulton (1954–2023), Ameeican judge
Shirley Goodman (1936–2005), American R&B singer, half of the 1950s duo Shirley and Lee
Shirley Ann Grau (1929–2020), American writer
Shirley Brice Heath, American linguistic anthropologist
Shirley Hemphill (1947–1999), American stand-up comedian and actress
Shirley Henderson (born 1965), Scottish actress
Shirley A. Hokanson (born 1936), American politician and social worker
Shirley Huffman (1928–2018), American politician
Shirley Ann Jackson (born 1946), American physicist
Shirley Jackson (1916–1965), American writer
Shirley Jefferson (born 1953), American law school administrator and professor
Shirley Johnson (1937–2021), American politician
Shirley Brannock Jones (1925–2019), American judge
Shirley Jones (born 1934), American singer and actress
Shirley Jülich (born 1949), New Zealand social work academic
Shirley Kallek (1926–1983), American statistician
Shirley Knight (1936–2020), American actress
Shirley Kocaçınar (born 1986), Turkish-Dutch footballer
Shirley Kwan (born 1966), Hong Kong Cantopop singer
Shirley A. R. Lewis (born 1937), American educator, academic administrator, college president
Shirley Love (born 1940), American opera singer
Shirley McKague (1935–2020), American politician
Shirley MacLaine (born 1934), American actress
Shirley Mallmann (born 1977), Brazilian model
Shirley Manson (born 1966), Scottish singer, lead vocalist of the rock band Garbage
Shirley Ardell Mason (1923–1998), American teacher
Shirley Muldowney (born 1940), American drag racer, first woman to receive a licence to drive a top fuel dragster by the NHRA
Shirley Murray (1931–2020), New Zealand hymn writer
Shirley Palmer (actress) (1908–2000), American film actress
Shirley Palmer (Kansas politician) (1943–2023), American politician
Shirley Phelps-Roper (born 1957), American lawyer and political activist
Shirley Pitts (1934–1992), English fraudster and thief, the "Queen of shoplifters"
Shirley B. Randleman (born 1950), American politician
Shirley Rumierk, American actress
Shirley Ann Russell (1935–2002), British costume designer
Shirley Scheier (born 1953), American artist
Shirley Scott (1934–2002), American hard bop and soul-jazz organist
Shirley Setia (fl. 2013–present), New Zealand singer
Shirley Sherrod, United States government employee who was unjustly fired in 2010
Shirley Adelson Siegel (1918–2020), American lawyer
Shirley-Anne Somerville (born 1974), British politician
Shirley Soosay (1945–1980), Canadian murder victim
Shirley Spork (1927–2022), American golfer
Shirley Stelfox (1941–2015), English actress
Shirley Temple (1928–2014), American actress, singer, dancer, businesswoman and diplomat
Shirley Jane Turner (1961–2003), Canadian-American murderer
Shirley Carew Titus (1892–1967), American nurse educator
Shirley Ulmer (1914–2000), American screenwriter
Shirley Walker (1945–2006), American film and television composer
Shirley A. Walters (born 1948), Republican-American business person
Shirley Williams (1930–2021), Baroness Williams of Crosby, English politician and academic
Shirley Yeung (born 1978), Hong Kong actress
Shirley Yu, Hong Kong actress
Shirley Zhou (born 1978), Chinese player
Shirley Zussman (1914–2021), American sex therapist

Male

Shirley Abbott (ambassador) (1923–2013), American businessman, diplomat, and politician
Shirley Abbott (footballer) (1889–1947), English footballer
Shirley Clifford Atchley (1871–1936), British diplomat and botanist
Shirley Baker (architect) (1895–1942), American architect
Shirley Waldemar Baker (1836–1903), English missionary and Prime Minister of Tonga
Shirley Brooks (1816–1874), English journalist
Shirley Brick (1898–1929), American football player
Shirley Burden (1908–1989), American photographer
Shirley Burden Jr. (1941–1996), American politician
Shirley Jackson Case (1872–1947), American historian and liberal theologian
Shirley Corea (1906–1974), Sri Lankan politician
Shirley Clarke (cricketer) (born 1977), Barbarian cricketer
Shirley Clay (died 1951), American jazz trumpeter
Shirley Crabtree (1930–1997), English professional wrestler
Shirley Davidson (1874–1907), Canadian ice hockey player
Shirley Gill (born 1918), Barbarian cricketer
Shirley Gillilland (1856–1927), American politician
Shirley Griffith (1907–1974), American male blues singer and guitarist
Shirley Griffiths (1930–2015), Barbarian cricketer
Shirley Guthrie (1927–2004), American Presbyterian minister and author
Shirley Hibberd (1825–1890), English writer
Shirley Hubbard (1885–1962), English professional footballer
Shirley Jeffries (1886–1963), Australian rules footballer and politician
Shirley "Shirl" Jennings (1940–2003), one of the few people to regain his sight after nearly lifelong blindness
Shirley S. Kastor (1895–1936), American politician
Shirley Love (politician) (1933–2020), American politician and broadcaster journalist
Shirley Majors (1913–1981), American football and baseball coach
Shirley Hall Nichols (1884–1964), American bishop
Shirley Palmer (physician) (1786–1852), English physician and medical writer
Shirley W. Palmer-Ball (1930–2012), American politician
Shirley Perera, Sri Lankan announcer
Shirley Petway (1908–1984), American baseball player and catcher
Shirley Povich (1905–1998), American sports columnist and reporter
Shirley Leon Quimby (1893–1986), American physicist
Shirley Simons (1897–1963), American architect
Shirley Strachan (1952–2001), American singer, songwriter, radio and television presenter, and carpenter
Shirley Waijayantha (born 1956), Sri Lankan musician and music illustrator
Shirley Wilson (1925–2021), American football coach
Shirley W. Wynne (1882–1942), Former New York City Health Commissioner

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.^{[citation needed]} A work on the genealogy of the various branches of the Shirley family was published as Stemmata Shirleiana by E. P. Shirley in 1841.^{[citation needed]} Their name comes from having lived in the parish of Shirley found in the counties of Derbyshire, Surrey, Hampshire and the West Midlands.

Anne Shirley (actress) (1918–1993), American actress born Dawn Evelyeen Paris
John Shirley (born 1953), American author of science-fiction, horror, thrillers, westerns, scripts, non-fiction, and lyrics.
Bob Shirley (born 1954), American baseball player
Craig Shirley (born 1956), American author, lecturer, historian and public affairs consultant
David A. Shirley (1934–2021), American chemist
Don Shirley (1927–2013), American-Jamaican jazz pianist and composer
Edwin Shirley (1948–2013), English Rock and Roll tour organiser
James Shirley (1596–1666), English dramatist
Jerry Shirley (born 1952), English rock drummer
Kellie Shirley (born 1981), English actress
Kevin Shirley (born 1960), South African music producer
Paul Shirley (born 1977), American basketball player and writer
Sewallis Shirley (MP) (1844–1904), British politician and founder of The Kennel Club
Simon Shirley (born 1966), Australian decathlete
Steve Shirley (born Vera Stephanie Shirley in 1933), British information technology pioneer, businesswoman and philanthropist
William Shirley (1694–1771), British colonial governor of Massachusetts

Fictional characters

Anne Shirley, the title character in Anne of Green Gables, a 1908 novel by Lucy Maude Montgomery, as well as numerous adaptations
- Shirley Blythe, Anne's son, in Anne of Ingleside, Rainbow Valley, and Rilla of Ingleside, the sequels to Anne of Green Gables, all by Lucy Maude Montgomery, as well as adaptations
Miss Shirley Brahms, a fictional character in the British sitcom Are You Being Served?
Shirley Carter, a fictional character in the British soap opera EastEnders
Shirley Duck, the mother of Flick Duck in "PB&J Otter"
Shirley the Loon, in Tiny Toon Adventures
Shirley Fenette, a character in the anime Code Geass
Shirley, a.k.a. Charlotte E. Yeager, a character from the mixed-media franchise Strike Witches
Shirley, a fictional character in The Jimmy Timmy Power Hour 3
Shirley, a hairdresser in the videogame MySims
Shirley Fennes, a character in the videogame Tales of Legendia
Shirley Feeney, titular character in Laverne & Shirley
Shirley Ghostman, Marc Wootton's character in High Spirits with Shirley Ghostman
Shirley Keeldar, titular character in the Charlotte Brontë novel Shirley
Shirley Partridge, the main character in The Partridge Family
Shirley Sheridan, a character in the 1934 American romantic musical movie The Cat and the Fiddle
Shirley, one of the main characters of Shaun the Sheep
Shirley, an elderly female bird in The Angry Birds Movie
The title character of the Shirley Valentine and its film adaptation

References

^ Leek, Nancy (July 29, 2019). "How Louise Clappe Became Shirley". Goldfields Books. Denison University. Retrieved December 16, 2022.
^ Hanks, Patrick; Hardcastle, Kate; Hodges, Flavia (2006). Oxford Dictionary of First Names. Oxford University Press. p. 246-47. ISBN 0-19-861060-2.
^ "Popularity of Names". ssa.gov. United States Social Security Administration. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
^ Campbell, Mike. "Shirley". behindthename.com. Behind the Name. Retrieved 29 October 2023.

This page or section lists people that share the same given name or the same family name.
If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change that link to point directly to the intended article.

[:1-1] Leek, Nancy (July 29, 2019). "How Louise Clappe Became Shirley". Goldfields Books. Denison University. Retrieved December 16, 2022.

[2] Hanks, Patrick; Hardcastle, Kate; Hodges, Flavia (2006). Oxford Dictionary of First Names. Oxford University Press. p. 246-47. ISBN 0-19-861060-2.

[3] "Popularity of Names". ssa.gov. United States Social Security Administration. Retrieved 29 October 2023.

[4] Campbell, Mike. "Shirley". behindthename.com. Behind the Name. Retrieved 29 October 2023.

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