Shirley

#1,581 for girls in 2025, 133 births · Last seen for boys in 1993 at #6,816
Given to girls 98.6% of the time

Showing
Show data for
Peak · girls
1935 · 42,366 births
Debut · girls
8 births
In top 100 · girls
46 yrs
of 146 years
Total births · girls
686,383
since 1880

Shirley over time

girls

Rank among girls' names. Click any year to open it.

#1#10#100#1,000rank188019001920194019601980200020201962peak #2, 1935girls
Hover or use arrow keys to read values by year; click or press Enter to open that year.

Gaps mean fewer than 5 babies received the name that year, so the SSA doesn't publish it.

Show data table
Yeargirlsboys
rankbirthsrankbirths
2025#1,581133—
2024#1,452151—
2023#1,534139—
2022#1,583134—
2021#1,885105—
2020#1,545137—
2019#1,483148—
2018#1,447152—
2017#1,274185—
2016#1,386168—
2015#1,311181—
2014#1,205202—
2013#1,338174—
2012#1,334176—
2011#1,266188—
2010#1,317178—
2009#1,091233—
2008#905304—
2007#937288—
2006#1,026249—
2005#885285—
2004#987240—
2003#788313—
2002#878259—
2001#778305—
2000#850259—
1999#914231—
1998#742293—
1997#660333—
1996#654339—
1995#634343—
1994#593380—
1993#579406#6,8167
1992#530449#8,4355
1991#521446—
1990#509472—
1989#512457—
1988#491462#6,4266
1987#473459#6,0896
1986#491435#6,7215
1985#441494#6,5235
1984#438477#6,3155
1983#428505#3,88410
1982#384601#5,0037
1981#390579—
1980#380603#4,4958
1979#346671#4,8427
1978#336647#3,8579
1977#307777—
1976#277834#3,09512
1975#278875#4,7976
1974#2541,010#2,94612
1973#2171,155#4,0547
1972#2091,334#2,65913
1971#1931,588#2,20318
1970#1981,629#2,05819
1969#1731,867#1,64225
1968#1502,142#2,31113
1967#1422,508#1,36431
1966#1232,919#1,25936
1965#1113,370#1,38631
1964#1033,967#1,51027
1963#994,387#1,51327
1962#964,869#1,29536
1961#855,638#1,30337
1960#706,411#1,15246
1959#617,284#1,21241
1958#528,088#1,04953
1957#468,855#96662
1956#419,429#1,01954
1955#379,755#1,05451
1954#3310,909#90866
1953#2912,148#86868
1952#2812,529#85067
1951#2713,919#79978
1950#1915,891#75882
1949#1817,281#75483
1948#2016,121#80271
1947#1917,648#611124
1946#1817,870#534145
1945#1416,150#500143
1944#1516,309#537128
1943#1217,816#462186
1942#1217,750#427205
1941#1016,954#446174
1940#917,881#389214
1939#520,447#368238
1938#523,766#340265
1937#426,823#293337
1936#235,161#277381
1935#242,366#259435
1934#422,841#318288
1933#914,320#372213
1932#914,476#357242
1931#914,405#362239
1930#1114,775#337273
1929#914,576#346263
1928#1014,215#370249
1927#913,314#377242
1926#1411,762#409214
1925#1710,513#402223
1924#199,489#407226
1923#267,918#391231
1922#396,407#398229
1921#445,695#404227
1920#564,713#427196
1919#893,149#418197
1918#972,654#440182
1917#1231,800#432172
1916#1601,245#447155
1915#1621,135#414171
1914#160906#402141
1913#169684#406113
1912#198489#48466
1911#198362#49735
1910#202318#58224
1909#203281#43633
1908#196284#54122
1907#207247#61617
1906#234187#46523
1905#256162#59216
1904#268138#43124
1903#309102#52717
1902#309104#44022
1901#30595#68310
1900#322110#39332
1899#34674#52114
1898#37270#54315
1897#37261#42220
1896#38355#64112
1895#43343#34728
1894#40747#39922
1893#37452#47915
1892#34658#52515
1891#42335#45615
1890#40040#41519
1889#37142#52513
1888#43932#52814
1887#49920#6319
1886#55616#43117
1885#54216#43917
1884#47918#57011
1883#45118#49713
1882#6349#57611
1881—#7067
1880#6288#60010
First appearance
1880

In the first year the SSA published name data, Shirley was already there! It came in at #628, and was given to 8 baby girls.


Quietest stretch: 1881, when fewer than 5 girls a year got the name.

Where Shirley is popular in 1962

  • Rank in state
  • Top 10
  • 11–50
  • 51–100
  • 101–500
  • 501+
  • Not published
Alaska: #92 for girls · 9 births · 1 in 300 girlsAKMaine: #136 for girls · 16 births · 1 in 620 girlsMEVermont: #111 for girls · 8 births · 1 in 425 girlsVTNew Hampshire: #132 for girls · 10 births · 1 in 556 girlsNHWashington: #139 for girls · 49 births · 1 in 566 girlsWAIdaho: #146 for girls · 11 births · 1 in 549 girlsIDMontana: fewer than 5 girls named Shirley, so not publishedMTNorth Dakota: #91 for girls · 20 births · 1 in 310 girlsNDMinnesota: #170 for girls · 42 births · 1 in 902 girlsMNIllinois: #114 for girls · 211 births · 1 in 488 girlsILWisconsin: #133 for girls · 70 births · 1 in 605 girlsWIMichigan: #135 for girls · 133 births · 1 in 617 girlsMINew York: #134 for girls · 257 births · 1 in 636 girlsNYMassachusetts: #155 for girls · 56 births · 1 in 917 girlsMARhode Island: #90 for girls · 20 births · 1 in 392 girlsRIOregon: #143 for girls · 28 births · 1 in 550 girlsORNevada: #158 for girls · 5 births · 1 in 548 girlsNVWyoming: #131 for girls · 6 births · 1 in 428 girlsWYSouth Dakota: #115 for girls · 15 births · 1 in 447 girlsSDIowa: #170 for girls · 33 births · 1 in 829 girlsIAIndiana: #135 for girls · 84 births · 1 in 576 girlsINOhio: #113 for girls · 205 births · 1 in 480 girlsOHPennsylvania: #115 for girls · 211 births · 1 in 495 girlsPANew Jersey: #118 for girls · 107 births · 1 in 533 girlsNJConnecticut: #124 for girls · 40 births · 1 in 592 girlsCTCalifornia: #128 for girls · 318 births · 1 in 546 girlsCAUtah: #117 for girls · 24 births · 1 in 440 girlsUTColorado: #124 for girls · 42 births · 1 in 457 girlsCONebraska: #117 for girls · 30 births · 1 in 478 girlsNEMissouri: #117 for girls · 89 births · 1 in 479 girlsMOKentucky: #75 for girls · 100 births · 1 in 308 girlsKYWest Virginia: #83 for girls · 47 births · 1 in 343 girlsWVVirginia: #70 for girls · 149 births · 1 in 270 girlsVAMaryland: #67 for girls · 107 births · 1 in 274 girlsMDDelaware: #98 for girls · 13 births · 1 in 336 girlsDEArizona: #78 for girls · 50 births · 1 in 309 girlsAZNew Mexico: #59 for girls · 53 births · 1 in 218 girlsNMKansas: #128 for girls · 37 births · 1 in 536 girlsKSArkansas: #34 for girls · 119 births · 1 in 148 girlsARTennessee: #64 for girls · 128 births · 1 in 278 girlsTNNorth Carolina: #62 for girls · 199 births · 1 in 240 girlsNCSouth Carolina: #34 for girls · 182 births · 1 in 139 girlsSCDistrict of Columbia: #82 for girls · 42 births · 1 in 311 girlsDCOklahoma: #106 for girls · 47 births · 1 in 439 girlsOKLouisiana: #61 for girls · 154 births · 1 in 247 girlsLAMississippi: #12 for girls · 282 births · 1 in 88 girlsMSAlabama: #33 for girls · 238 births · 1 in 140 girlsALGeorgia: #41 for girls · 256 births · 1 in 171 girlsGAHawaii: #123 for girls · 16 births · 1 in 398 girlsHITexas: #86 for girls · 296 births · 1 in 373 girlsTXFlorida: #55 for girls · 201 births · 1 in 245 girlsFL

Hover or tap a state for its numbers.

Top states · girls
  1. Mississippi#12 · 1 in 88
  2. Alabama#33 · 1 in 140
  3. South Carolina#34 · 1 in 139
  4. Arkansas#34 · 1 in 148
  5. Georgia#41 · 1 in 171

Best ever in a state: #1 in Idaho, 1934.

Show every state
StateRankBirthsShare
Mississippi#122821 in 88
Alabama#332381 in 140
Arkansas#341191 in 148
South Carolina#341821 in 139
Georgia#412561 in 171
Florida#552011 in 245
New Mexico#59531 in 218
Louisiana#611541 in 247
North Carolina#621991 in 240
Tennessee#641281 in 278
Maryland#671071 in 274
Virginia#701491 in 270
Kentucky#751001 in 308
Arizona#78501 in 309
District of Columbia#82421 in 311
West Virginia#83471 in 343
Texas#862961 in 373
Rhode Island#90201 in 392
North Dakota#91201 in 310
Alaska#9291 in 300
Delaware#98131 in 336
Oklahoma#106471 in 439
Vermont#11181 in 425
Ohio#1132051 in 480
Illinois#1142111 in 488
Pennsylvania#1152111 in 495
South Dakota#115151 in 447
Missouri#117891 in 479
Nebraska#117301 in 478
Utah#117241 in 440
New Jersey#1181071 in 533
Hawaii#123161 in 398
Colorado#124421 in 457
Connecticut#124401 in 592
California#1283181 in 546
Kansas#128371 in 536
Wyoming#13161 in 428
New Hampshire#132101 in 556
Wisconsin#133701 in 605
New York#1342571 in 636
Indiana#135841 in 576
Michigan#1351331 in 617
Maine#136161 in 620
Washington#139491 in 566
Oregon#143281 in 550
Idaho#146111 in 549
Massachusetts#155561 in 917
Nevada#15851 in 548
Iowa#170331 in 829
Minnesota#170421 in 902
Montana———

Ranks are within each state; “1 in N” is out of the girls born there that year. The SSA only publishes a name in a state when 5 or more babies of one sex got it.

See more about Shirley
Momentum · girls
Holding steady
  • 129 spots since 2024 (#1,452 → #1,581)
  • 36 spots since 2020 (#1,545 → #1,581)
  • 270 spots since 2015 (#1,311 → #1,581)
  • Biggest jump: 183 spots in 1883 (#634 → #451)
  • Biggest drop: 199 spots in 2004 (#788 → #987)
Rise & fade · girls
55 yrs to peak
  • Debuted 1880
  • Peaked 1935 at #2 (42,366 births)
  • Births halved by 1939, 4 yrs later
Top of the charts · girls
Top 10 for 14 yrs
  • Top 10: 14 yrs · run 1931–1941
  • Top 100: 46 yrs · run 1918–1963
  • Top 1,000: 127 yrs · run 1882–2005
Share of babies · girls
1 in 25
  • Highest: 1 in 25 girls born in 1935 were named Shirley (4.0%)
  • Latest: 1 in 12,085 girls born in 2025 (0.01%)
Era · girls
The 1930s
  • 33.4% of all girls named Shirley (229,380) were born in this decade
Show by decade
DecadeBirthsBest rankAvg rank
1880s179#371 (1889)#511
1890s535#346 (1899)#386
1900s1,710#196 (1908)#261
1910s12,742#89 (1919)#156
1920s98,602#9 (1929)#24
1930s229,380#2 (1935)#6
1940s171,780#9 (1940)#15
1950s108,807#19 (1950)#37
1960s38,078#70 (1960)#115
1970s10,520#193 (1971)#262
1980s5,072#380 (1980)#443
1990s3,692#509 (1990)#634
2000s2,735#778 (2001)#913
2010s1,752#1,205 (2014)#1,336
2020s799#1,452 (2024)#1,597

All figures count published births only (names given to at least 5 girls in a year). Registrations before 1937 are incomplete, so early shares and totals run low.

Shirley in 1962

girls
#96
4,869 births · 1 in 404 girls
boys
#1,295
36 births · 1 in 57,466 boys

Top girls' names in 1962

  1. #1Lisa46,069
  2. #2Mary43,502
  3. #3Susan35,752
  4. #4Karen35,184
  5. #5Linda31,461
  6. #6Patricia26,532
  7. #7Donna25,719
  8. #8Cynthia24,025
  9. #9Deborah22,889
  10. #10Sandra22,420
  11. #96Shirley4,869

Top boys' names in 1962

  1. #1Michael85,059
  2. #2David81,337
  3. #3John78,427
  4. #4James72,555
  5. #5Robert70,199
  6. #6Mark53,520
  7. #7William44,853
  8. #8Richard39,422
  9. #9Thomas36,529
  10. #10Jeffrey33,537
  11. #1,295Shirley36
More about 1962

girls

1,966,603 girls got a published name in 1962; 1 in 404 of them was named Shirley, which outranked 98.7% of the 7,584 girls' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 15.9% of girls (24.6% in 1880, 7.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Shirley
  1. #93Peggy4,900
  2. #94Joan4,879
  3. #95Jean4,877
  4. #96Shirley4,869
  5. #97Betty4,763
  6. #98Sarah4,548
  7. #99Andrea4,540
Biggest movers since 1961
Risers
  1. ↑ 1,281Tiffany#2,070 → #789
  2. ↑ 879Whitney#1,627 → #748
  3. ↑ 541Zina#1,533 → #992
  4. ↑ 414Glynis#1,406 → #992
  5. ↑ 408Lolita#978 → #570
Fallers
  1. ↓ 300Fern#821 → #1,121
  2. ↓ 259Jacklyn#815 → #1,074
  3. ↓ 255Dorthy#929 → #1,184
  4. ↓ 224Laurene#943 → #1,167
  5. ↓ 215Jimmie#911 → #1,126

Among names in the top 1,000 of either year.

boys

2,068,772 boys got a published name in 1962; 1 in 57,466 of them was named Shirley, which outranked 72.0% of the 4,631 boys' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 28.8% of boys (44.2% in 1880, 8.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Shirley
  1. #1,279Selwyn37
  2. #1,279Verlin37
  3. #1,279Wayde37
  4. #1,295Shirley36
  5. #1,295Abelardo36
  6. #1,295Chance36
  7. #1,295Daneil36
  8. #1,311Abner35
  9. #1,311Alain35
  10. #1,311Alvie35

Tied with 15 names at #1,295; 3 shown. Tied names share a rank, as in SSA's lists.

Biggest movers since 1961
Risers
  1. ↑ 490Ritchie#1,262 → #772
  2. ↑ 353King#1,349 → #996
  3. ↑ 338Arlie#1,322 → #984
  4. ↑ 250Robb#1,052 → #802
  5. ↑ 243Pernell#928 → #685
Fallers
  1. ↓ 351Mariano#928 → #1,279
  2. ↓ 349Michal#910 → #1,259
  3. ↓ 337Loran#958 → #1,295
  4. ↓ 292Sid#967 → #1,259
  5. ↓ 275Lorenza#940 → #1,215

Among names in the top 1,000 of either year.

See the top 100 for 1962 →