Shirley (name)
Shirley is a formerly all male, but now almost exclusively female first name and family name .
Origin and meaning
Shirley is originally the title of a novel by Charlotte Brontë from 1849. In it, a father gives his daughter this name, which he actually intended for a son. The name has been popular since that time. Before this novel was published, this name was male and rather rare.
As a family name, it appears more.
Name bearer
Female first name
- Shirley Ann Richards (1917-2006), Australian actress
- Shirley Babashoff (* 1957), American swimmer
- Shirley Bassey (born 1937), British singer
- Shirley Booth (1898–1992), American actress
- Shirley Chisholm (1924–2005), American politician
- Shirley Collins (born 1935), British folk musician
- Shirley Conran (* 1932), British writer and journalist
- Shirley Eaton (born 1937), British actress
- Shirley Fry (* 1927), American tennis player
- Shirley Goodman (1936-2005), American R&B singer
- Shirley Henderson (born 1965), British actress
- Shirley Horn (1934–2005), American jazz pianist and singer
- Shirley Jackson (1916–1965), American writer
- Shirley Ann Jackson (* 1946), American physicist
- Shirley Jones (born 1934), American actress
- Shirley Knight (1936-2020), American actress
- Shirley Luster , birth name of June Christy (1925–1990), American jazz singer
- Shirley MacLaine (born 1934), American actress
- Shirley Manson (born 1966), British singer
- Shirley Scott (1934–2002), American jazz organist
- Shirley Strickland de la Hunty (1925-2004), Australian athlete
- Shirley Strong (born 1958), British athlete
- Shirley Temple (1928–2014), American actress
- Shirley Walker (1945–2006), American composer, conductor, pianist and producer
- Shirley Zwerus (* 1946), Dutch pop singer, in German-speaking countries under the stage name Shirley
Male first name
- Shirley Waldemar Baker (around 1835–1903), Methodist missionary and politician from Tonga
- Shirley Clay (1902–1951), American jazz musician
Second first name
- Hamilton Shirley Amerasinghe (1913–1980), politician from Sri Lanka
family name
- Anne Shirley (1918–1993), American actress
- Daniel Shirley (* 1979), New Zealand badminton player
- Derek Shirley (* 1975), Canadian jazz bassist
- Don Shirley (1927–2013), American pianist and composer
- Donna Shirley (* 1941), American manager
- Dorothy Shirley (born 1939), British athlete
- Eric Shirley (* 1929), British obstacle runner
- Gabriel Shirley (* around 1980), New Zealand badminton player
- George Shirley (born 1934), American singer (tenor)
- James Shirley (1596–1666), English writer
- Jerry Shirley (* 1952), British musician, member of Humble Pie
- John Shirley (* 1953), American writer and musician
- John Shirley (film editor) , British film editor
- John Shirley-Quirk (1931-2014), British singer (bass-baritone)
- Jill Shirley , maiden name of Jill Hammersley (* 1951), British table tennis player
- Jimmy Shirley (1913–1989), American jazz guitarist
- Justin Shirley-Smith , music producer
- Kevin Shirley (* 1960), South African music producer
- Lianne Shirley (* 1975), New Zealand badminton player
- Mule Shirley (1901–1955), American baseball player
- Paul Shirley (* 1977), American basketball player
- Ralph Shirley († 1466), English esquire
- Robert Shirley († 1628), English traveler and adventurer
- Robert Shirley, 13th Earl Ferrers (1929–2012), British politician (Conservative Party)
- Stephanie Shirley ( Stephanie Steve Shirley ; * 1933), German-British entrepreneur
- Thomas Shirley (1908–1982), British Air Force officer
- William Shirley (1694–1771), British colonial governor
Fictional people
- Shirley Valentine from the work of the same name by William Martin Russell