English

Shirley

Pronounced SHUR-leeShare

Meaning: Bright clearing

  • Girl
  • Uncommon
  • 2 syllables

The story

Shirley comes from an English surname and place name combining brightness with a woodland clearing. Its later use as a given name preserves those landscape roots.

Nicknames

  • Shirl

Spellings & variants

  • Shirlee

Famous namesakes

  • Shirley TempleActor

Popularity

Uncommon

Outside the US top 1,000.

Style

Origins

Shirley comes from English.

More like Shirley

More English names
English

Shelley

Clearing on a bank

Rare gem
English

Primrose

Primrose flower; its word history includes first rose

Uncommon
English

Pamela

Possibly all sweetness, as a literary coinage

Uncommon
English

Beverly

Possibly beaver stream

Uncommon
English

Sidney

Wide island, through an English place-name surname

Uncommon
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