How Many People Are Named Shirley?
Complete statistics for the name Shirley in the United States — including rarity score, gender breakdown, age distribution, historical popularity, and state data.
Data last updated: 2025 SSA records
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Normalized logarithmic scale (0–100)
male
Population Share
How Many People Have the Name Shirley in the US?
Based on Social Security Administration birth records and age-adjusted survival modeling, approximately 695,797 people in the United States currently share the name Shirley. That works out to roughly 1 in every 474 Americans, placing it in the Common category among all names tracked in US records. For context on where this falls on the full spectrum, see the name rarity guide.
Is Shirley a Common or Rare Name?
Shirley is classified as Common when scored against the entire US population. Our rarity scale runs from Very Common (top names shared by millions) through Common, Uncommon, Rare, and Very Rare. Understanding where a name sits helps parents gauge uniqueness when choosing a baby name, genealogists narrow down records, and curious individuals settle debates about their own identity.
What Does the Name Shirley Mean?
The meaning, language of origin, cultural and religious background for Shirley are covered in full on the Shirley name meaning & origin page. For a broader look at thousands of names, browse the name meaning directory.
Gender Breakdown: Is Shirley Male or Female?
Of all recorded bearers of Shirley in SSA data, approximately 1% are male and 99% are female. Shirley is used almost exclusively as a female name in the United States. See our guide to gender-neutral names for more on how naming norms evolve.
When Was Shirley Most Popular?
The name Shirley reached peak popularity in 1935, with 42,365 babies registered that year. Our article on 2025 baby name trends explores these forces in detail.
Where Is Shirley Most Common in the US?
The state-by-state breakdown above shows estimated bearer counts for Shirley across all 50 states. Highly populous states like California, Texas, and New York naturally show higher counts for almost every name simply due to population size.
How Is This Data Calculated?
All figures on this page are statistical estimates, not exact government headcounts. The underlying data comes from the SSA National Baby Names dataset. Full methodology is explained on the methodology page.
How many people are named Shirley?
Approximately 695,797 people in the United States share the name Shirley, based on SSA birth records and age-adjusted survival modeling.
Is Shirley a rare name?
Shirley is classified as Common in the United States. Approximately 1 in every 474 Americans has this name.
What does the name Shirley mean?
The meaning and origin of Shirley is displayed in the Name Meaning and Origin section at the top of this page. Browse the name meaning directory at https://howmanyofme.site/name-meaning/ for more names.
Is Shirley more male or female?
Based on SSA records, 1% of people named Shirley are male and 99% are female. The predicted gender is Female.
When was Shirley most popular?
The name Shirley reached its peak in 1935, with 42,365 registrations that year.
Are these statistics exact?
No. All figures are statistical estimates based on SSA birth records and age-adjusted modeling. Exact real-time name counts are not publicly available. See the methodology page at https://howmanyofme.site/methodology/ for full details.