Shirley
Shirley was given to 133 girls in 2025, #1,586 among girls’ names; 695,934 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 296,000 Americans named Shirley and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (43% of everyone recorded); the median is 77 years old and half are between 69 and 84.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Shirley by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Shirley mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Shirley is “a female given name transferred from the surname, popular from the 1920s to the 1950s.” Its etymology gives the senses “county” (sċīr) and “meadow” (lēah).
Also “a male given name transferred from the surname.”
English place name from Old English sċīr (“county”) + lēah (“meadow”). Equivalent to shire + -ley (“lea”).
/ˈʃɜː(ɹ)li/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Shirley?
#1,586 among girls’ names, 2025
Shirley fell from #1,314 in 2015 to #1,586 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born fell from 0.10 to 0.08 per 1,000.
42,801 babies in 1935, the peak
Shirley peaked in 1935, when 42,801 babies were given it (42,366 girls, #2 among girls’ names). The 133 births of 2025 are under 1% of that peak.
Births by sex.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 133 | #1,586 | 0.08 |
| 2024 | 151 | #1,455 | 0.09 |
| 2023 | 139 | #1,539 | 0.09 |
| 2022 | 134 | #1,588 | 0.08 |
| 2021 | 105 | #1,894 | 0.06 |
| 2020 | 137 | #1,550 | 0.08 |
| 2019 | 148 | #1,488 | 0.09 |
| 2018 | 152 | #1,450 | 0.09 |
| 2017 | 185 | #1,279 | 0.11 |
| 2016 | 168 | #1,393 | 0.09 |
Every recorded year (145)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 181 | #1,314 | 0.10 |
| 2014 | 202 | #1,213 | 0.11 |
| 2013 | 174 | #1,346 | 0.10 |
| 2012 | 176 | #1,338 | 0.10 |
| 2011 | 188 | #1,270 | 0.11 |
| 2010 | 178 | #1,325 | 0.10 |
| 2009 | 233 | #1,100 | 0.13 |
| 2008 | 304 | #908 | 0.16 |
| 2007 | 288 | #943 | 0.15 |
| 2006 | 249 | #1,032 | 0.13 |
| 2005 | 285 | #888 | 0.15 |
| 2004 | 240 | #990 | 0.13 |
| 2003 | 313 | #793 | 0.17 |
| 2002 | 259 | #878 | 0.14 |
| 2001 | 305 | #781 | 0.17 |
| 2000 | 259 | #850 | 0.14 |
| 1999 | 231 | #916 | 0.13 |
| 1998 | 293 | #742 | 0.17 |
| 1997 | 333 | #661 | 0.19 |
| 1996 | 339 | #655 | 0.19 |
| 1995 | 343 | #636 | 0.20 |
| 1994 | 380 | #593 | 0.21 |
| 1993 | 406 | #580 | 0.22 |
| 1992 | 449 | #530 | 0.24 |
| 1991 | 446 | #525 | 0.24 |
| 1990 | 472 | #509 | 0.25 |
| 1989 | 457 | #514 | 0.25 |
| 1988 | 462 | #492 | 0.26 |
| 1987 | 459 | #473 | 0.26 |
| 1986 | 435 | #492 | 0.25 |
| 1985 | 494 | #443 | 0.29 |
| 1984 | 477 | #438 | 0.28 |
| 1983 | 505 | #428 | 0.30 |
| 1982 | 601 | #385 | 0.35 |
| 1981 | 579 | #391 | 0.35 |
| 1980 | 603 | #380 | 0.36 |
| 1979 | 671 | #346 | 0.42 |
| 1978 | 647 | #336 | 0.42 |
| 1977 | 777 | #307 | 0.51 |
| 1976 | 834 | #277 | 0.57 |
| 1975 | 875 | #278 | 0.60 |
| 1974 | 1,010 | #254 | 0.69 |
| 1973 | 1,155 | #218 | 0.79 |
| 1972 | 1,334 | #209 | 0.88 |
| 1971 | 1,588 | #193 | 1.0 |
| 1970 | 1,629 | #198 | 0.93 |
| 1969 | 1,867 | #173 | 1.1 |
| 1968 | 2,142 | #150 | 1.3 |
| 1967 | 2,508 | #142 | 1.5 |
| 1966 | 2,919 | #124 | 1.7 |
| 1965 | 3,370 | #111 | 1.9 |
| 1964 | 3,967 | #103 | 2.1 |
| 1963 | 4,387 | #99 | 2.3 |
| 1962 | 4,869 | #96 | 2.5 |
| 1961 | 5,638 | #85 | 2.8 |
| 1960 | 6,411 | #70 | 3.2 |
| 1959 | 7,284 | #61 | 3.6 |
| 1958 | 8,088 | #52 | 4.0 |
| 1957 | 8,855 | #46 | 4.3 |
| 1956 | 9,429 | #41 | 4.7 |
| 1955 | 9,755 | #37 | 5.0 |
| 1954 | 10,909 | #33 | 5.6 |
| 1953 | 12,148 | #29 | 6.5 |
| 1952 | 12,529 | #28 | 6.8 |
| 1951 | 13,919 | #27 | 7.7 |
| 1950 | 15,891 | #19 | 9.3 |
| 1949 | 17,281 | #18 | 10.1 |
| 1948 | 16,121 | #20 | 9.5 |
| 1947 | 17,648 | #19 | 10.0 |
| 1946 | 17,870 | #18 | 11.4 |
| 1945 | 16,150 | #14 | 12.4 |
| 1944 | 16,309 | #15 | 12.3 |
| 1943 | 17,816 | #12 | 12.8 |
| 1942 | 17,750 | #12 | 13.1 |
| 1941 | 16,954 | #10 | 14.0 |
| 1940 | 17,881 | #9 | 15.6 |
| 1939 | 20,447 | #5 | 18.6 |
| 1938 | 23,766 | #5 | 21.5 |
| 1937 | 26,823 | #4 | 25.2 |
| 1936 | 35,161 | #2 | 33.8 |
| 1935 | 42,366 | #2 | 40.4 |
| 1934 | 22,841 | #4 | 21.9 |
| 1933 | 14,320 | #9 | 14.2 |
| 1932 | 14,476 | #9 | 13.6 |
| 1931 | 14,405 | #9 | 13.5 |
| 1930 | 14,775 | #11 | 13.1 |
| 1929 | 14,576 | #9 | 13.1 |
| 1928 | 14,215 | #10 | 12.3 |
| 1927 | 13,314 | #9 | 11.2 |
| 1926 | 11,762 | #14 | 9.9 |
| 1925 | 10,513 | #17 | 8.6 |
| 1924 | 9,489 | #19 | 7.6 |
| 1923 | 7,918 | #26 | 6.6 |
| 1922 | 6,407 | #39 | 5.3 |
| 1921 | 5,695 | #44 | 4.6 |
| 1920 | 4,713 | #56 | 3.9 |
| 1919 | 3,149 | #89 | 2.8 |
| 1918 | 2,654 | #97 | 2.3 |
| 1917 | 1,800 | #123 | 1.7 |
| 1916 | 1,245 | #160 | 1.2 |
| 1915 | 1,135 | #162 | 1.2 |
| 1914 | 906 | #160 | 1.2 |
| 1913 | 684 | #169 | 1.1 |
| 1912 | 489 | #198 | 0.88 |
| 1911 | 362 | #198 | 0.87 |
| 1910 | 318 | #204 | 0.80 |
| 1909 | 281 | #203 | 0.81 |
| 1908 | 284 | #198 | 0.85 |
| 1907 | 247 | #208 | 0.78 |
| 1906 | 187 | #234 | 0.63 |
| 1905 | 162 | #257 | 0.56 |
| 1904 | 138 | #272 | 0.50 |
| 1903 | 102 | #309 | 0.39 |
| 1902 | 104 | #311 | 0.39 |
| 1901 | 95 | #308 | 0.40 |
| 1900 | 110 | #324 | 0.37 |
| 1899 | 74 | #347 | 0.32 |
| 1898 | 70 | #373 | 0.27 |
| 1897 | 61 | #373 | 0.26 |
| 1896 | 55 | #384 | 0.23 |
| 1895 | 43 | #436 | 0.18 |
| 1894 | 47 | #408 | 0.21 |
| 1893 | 52 | #377 | 0.24 |
| 1892 | 58 | #347 | 0.27 |
| 1891 | 35 | #428 | 0.19 |
| 1890 | 40 | #405 | 0.21 |
| 1889 | 42 | #378 | 0.24 |
| 1888 | 32 | #442 | 0.18 |
| 1887 | 20 | #509 | 0.14 |
| 1886 | 16 | #570 | 0.11 |
| 1885 | 16 | #555 | 0.12 |
| 1884 | 18 | #498 | 0.14 |
| 1883 | 18 | #463 | 0.16 |
| 1882 | 9 | #670 | 0.08 |
| 1880 | 8 | #671 | 0.09 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Shirley a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Of the 695,934 Americans recorded as Shirley, 99% are girls and 1% boys. In 2025 it went to 133 girls; SSA lists no boys with it that year (fewer than 5, or none).
Years with fewer than 20 babies given the name are left blank.
Girls and boys named Shirley: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Shirley, and how old are they?
296,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 43% of the 695,934 Americans ever recorded as Shirley. The median Shirley alive today is 77 years old; half are between 69 and 84.
The 2020 Census counted 360,153 people named Shirley (358,593 women and girls, 1,560 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 386,395 born in the U.S. The Census count is 7% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 109,000 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 151,000 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 22,100 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 7,150 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 4,090 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 2,000 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Shirley born?
The states with the most babies named Shirley are Pennsylvania, New York and Illinois, with 19% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania | 45,023 | not ranked | 0.9× |
| New York | 44,960 | #1,081 | 0.7× |
| Illinois | 38,897 | #998 | 1.0× |
| Ohio | 34,210 | #1,668 | 1.0× |
| Michigan | 32,198 | #1,391 | 1.1× |
| California | 31,924 | #1,932 | 0.8× |
| Texas | 31,621 | #2,883 | 0.8× |
| North Carolina | 25,818 | not ranked | 1.1× |
| Missouri | 22,681 | not ranked | 1.2× |
| Virginia | 21,974 | #1,353 | 1.3× |
Where Shirley is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Shirley is most over-represented in Virginia: since 1910 it was given 1.3 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among girls’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Shirley with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 8 names spelled alike, given to 705,996 babies since 1880, Shirley is the most given (99% of them). In 2025 it was given to 133 of their 133 babies (100%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Shirley
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Shirley and names like it
- Compare Shirley and ShirleeBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1930sShirley peaked in 1935.
- Pennsylvania’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Shirley since 1910.
- From surnamesWiktionary’s origin for Shirley: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1935The year the most babies were named Shirley.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Shirley alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with SMost given first.