Shirley

femaleStatistical record

What official birth registration shows about Shirley: which national registrars published it, in which years, and how its recorded position changed.

No researched meaning, origin or pronunciation yet — what that means.

Shirley: Recorded since 1952, it reached #30 in 1957, and it stood at #3,015 in 2024.

5registrars recorded it
89times a registrar ranked it
73years from first to last
#30highest recorded position
25groupings it qualifies for

Region

Falling

among girls in England and Wales · 1996–2024

View as table

England and Wales · Girls rank by year
Year	Rank
1996	#1364
1997	#1543
1998	#1571
1999	#1261
2000	#1250
2001	#1107
2002	#1928
2003	#3099
2004	#1617
2005	#1690
2006	#1983
2007	#2233
2008	#3005
2009	#3422
2010	#2843
2011	#3185
2012	#2521
2014	#3514
2015	#3252
2016	#2233
2017	#3583
2018	#3178
2019	#5591
2020	#2843
2021	#5581
2022	#3148
2023	#3218
2024	#3015

VerifiedSource: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales.Confidence: high.

See all England and Wales names · Source: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales

What the data shows

FallingEngland and Wales · Girls

Recorded in official data among girls in Republic of Ireland in 39 of the 60 years from 1964 to 2023.

In 2023: #856 among girls in Republic of Ireland, #3218 among girls in England and Wales.

Official data from 5 national registrars across 5 regions, 1952–2024 · Office for National Statistics. Data sources

Popularity journey

First recorded1952
First recorded at #48 among girls in New South Wales, Australia in 1952 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
New South Wales, Australia · Girls
Highest recorded1954–1964
Highest recorded position: #30 among girls in New Zealand, in 1957 (recorded 1954–1964).
New Zealand · Girls
Most recent2024
Most recently recorded at #3015 among girls in England and Wales, in 2024.
England and Wales · Girls

Shirley appears in 4 of the published lists Namewise holds. The longest record is Republic of Ireland · Girls, with 39 ranked years and 1,787 births registered; the earliest is New South Wales, Australia · Girls, from 1952.

Shirley across 4 official records

Each registrar publishes its own list, so these figures are read down a row, never across one. A position in one country is not comparable with a position in another, and Namewise never combines them into a single ranking. The birth counts do not compare across rows either, for a different reason: England and Wales registers roughly thirty times as many births a year as Northern Ireland, so a larger total says which registrar recorded it as much as how widely the name was given.

Shirley's first, highest and most recent recorded position in each official list, with the number of births each registrar registered with the name and its largest single year
Published list	First recorded	Highest	Most recent	Years recorded	Births registered	Most in one year
Republic of Ireland · Girls	#124 (1964)	#64 (1971)	#856 (2023)	39 of 60	1,787 (1964–2023)	140 (1974)
England and Wales · Girls	#1364 (1996)	#1107 (2001)	#3015 (2024)	28 of 29	256 (1996–2024)	18 (2001)
New Zealand · Girls	#40 (1954)	#30 (1957)	#82 (1964)	11 of 11	1,673 (1954–1964)	210 (1957)
New South Wales, Australia · Girls	#48 (1952)	#48 (1952)	#100 (1961)	10 of 10	1,198 (1952–1961)	178 (1952)

Shirley by decade in Republic of Ireland · Girls

Births registered with the name in each decade of this one list, with the number of years the list covers in that decade. Bars are scaled on births a year, which is the figure that compares between decades — a decade the list only partly covers has a smaller total without being a quieter decade. Figures belong to this registrar alone and do not carry to another.

Births registered with Shirley in Republic of Ireland · Girls, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
1960s	341	6 of 10	57
1970sbusiest	1,028	10 of 10	103
1980s	319	10 of 10	32
1990s	82	9 of 10	9
2000s	5	1 of 10	5
2010s	9	2 of 10	5
2020s	3	1 of 10	3

Across Republic of Ireland · Girls, the 1970s were its busiest decade, averaging 103 births a year.

Its sharpest single-year move came between 1970 and 1971, when recorded births rose by 54, from 81 to 135.

See the names Republic of Irelandhas recorded the most births with →

Shirley appears in

Groupings this name qualifies for under their own stated rules, from the same official statistics shown above.

Popularity data

Official popularity data is available for 5 regions, from 1952 to 2024. Highest recorded position: #30 in New Zealand in 1957.

Shirley's recorded popularity observations by year, region and administrative category, including rank, registered births, source confidence and when each region's data was last reviewed.
Year	Region	Category	Rank	Births registered	Confidence	Status
2024	England and Wales	female	#3015	8	High	Verified
2023	England and Wales	female	#3218	7	High	Verified
2022	England and Wales	female	#3148	7	High	Verified
2021	England and Wales	female	#5581	3	High	Verified
2020	England and Wales	female	#2843	8	High	Verified
2019	England and Wales	female	#5591	3	High	Verified
2018	England and Wales	female	#3178	7	High	Verified
2017	England and Wales	female	#3583	6	High	Verified
2016	England and Wales	female	#2233	12	High	Verified
2015	England and Wales	female	#3252	7	High	Verified
2014	England and Wales	female	#3514	6	High	Verified
2012	England and Wales	female	#2521	10	High	Verified
2011	England and Wales	female	#3185	7	High	Verified
2010	England and Wales	female	#2843	8	High	Verified
2009	England and Wales	female	#3422	6	High	Verified
2008	England and Wales	female	#3005	7	High	Verified
2007	England and Wales	female	#2233	10	High	Verified
2006	England and Wales	female	#1983	11	High	Verified
2005	England and Wales	female	#1690	13	High	Verified
2004	England and Wales	female	#1617	13	High	Verified
2003	England and Wales	female	#3099	5	High	Verified
2002	England and Wales	female	#1928	9	High	Verified
2001	England and Wales	female	#1107	18	High	Verified
2000	England and Wales	female	#1250	15	High	Verified
1999	England and Wales	female	#1261	15	High	Verified
1998	England and Wales	female	#1571	11	High	Verified
1997	England and Wales	female	#1543	11	High	Verified
1996	England and Wales	female	#1364	13	High	Verified
1961	New South Wales, Australia	female	#100	82	Insufficient	Not yet available
1960	New South Wales, Australia	female	#98	85	Insufficient	Not yet available
1959	New South Wales, Australia	female	#75	110	Insufficient	Not yet available
1958	New South Wales, Australia	female	#81	107	Insufficient	Not yet available
1957	New South Wales, Australia	female	#72	121	Insufficient	Not yet available
1956	New South Wales, Australia	female	#67	129	Insufficient	Not yet available
1955	New South Wales, Australia	female	#76	113	Insufficient	Not yet available
1954	New South Wales, Australia	female	#72	125	Insufficient	Not yet available
1953	New South Wales, Australia	female	#62	148	Insufficient	Not yet available
1952	New South Wales, Australia	female	#48	178	Insufficient	Not yet available
1964	New Zealand	female	#82	83	High	Verified
1963	New Zealand	female	#73	107	High	Verified
1962	New Zealand	female	#78	105	High	Verified
1961	New Zealand	female	#44	162	High	Verified
1960	New Zealand	female	#47	149	High	Verified
1959	New Zealand	female	#36	181	High	Verified
1958	New Zealand	female	#36	180	High	Verified
1957	New Zealand	female	#30	210	High	Verified
1956	New Zealand	female	#35	184	High	Verified
1955	New Zealand	female	#42	152	High	Verified
1954	New Zealand	female	#40	160	High	Verified
2011	Northern Ireland	female	#444	3	High	Verified
2023	Republic of Ireland	female	#856	3	High	Verified
2016	Republic of Ireland	female	#661	5	High	Verified
2011	Republic of Ireland	female	#798	4	High	Verified
2003	Republic of Ireland	female	#490	5	High	Verified
1998	Republic of Ireland	female	#380	5	High	Verified
1997	Republic of Ireland	female	#440	5	High	Verified
1996	Republic of Ireland	female	#356	7	High	Verified
1995	Republic of Ireland	female	#352	7	High	Verified
1994	Republic of Ireland	female	#240	14	High	Verified
1993	Republic of Ireland	female	#356	7	High	Verified
1992	Republic of Ireland	female	#322	9	High	Verified
1991	Republic of Ireland	female	#263	13	High	Verified
1990	Republic of Ireland	female	#242	15	High	Verified
1989	Republic of Ireland	female	#228	16	High	Verified
1988	Republic of Ireland	female	#280	12	High	Verified
1987	Republic of Ireland	female	#262	14	High	Verified
1986	Republic of Ireland	female	#198	23	High	Verified
1985	Republic of Ireland	female	#192	27	High	Verified
1984	Republic of Ireland	female	#178	33	High	Verified
1983	Republic of Ireland	female	#158	42	High	Verified
1982	Republic of Ireland	female	#134	57	High	Verified
1981	Republic of Ireland	female	#163	40	High	Verified
1980	Republic of Ireland	female	#140	55	High	Verified
1979	Republic of Ireland	female	#111	72	High	Verified
1978	Republic of Ireland	female	#113	68	High	Verified
1977	Republic of Ireland	female	#111	70	High	Verified
1976	Republic of Ireland	female	#86	101	High	Verified
1975	Republic of Ireland	female	#83	97	High	Verified
1974	Republic of Ireland	female	#67	140	High	Verified
1973	Republic of Ireland	female	#69	136	High	Verified
1972	Republic of Ireland	female	#66	128	High	Verified
1971	Republic of Ireland	female	#64	135	High	Verified
1970	Republic of Ireland	female	#95	81	High	Verified
1969	Republic of Ireland	female	#93	80	High	Verified
1968	Republic of Ireland	female	#110	57	High	Verified
1967	Republic of Ireland	female	#110	55	High	Verified
1966	Republic of Ireland	female	#93	68	High	Verified
1965	Republic of Ireland	female	#133	38	High	Verified
1964	Republic of Ireland	female	#124	43	High	Verified

England and Wales hub — collected by Office for National Statistics
New South Wales, Australia hub — collected by NSW Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages
New Zealand hub — collected by NZ Department of Internal Affairs
Northern Ireland hub — collected by NISRA
Republic of Ireland hub — collected by CSO Ireland

See methodology and data sources for how popularity data is collected and what "confidence" means.

What the record shows

Recorded by 5 registrars between 1952 and 2024, ranked in 72 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #30, first reached in 1957.

It held a top-100 place in 22 years, 13 of them consecutive.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 210 births, registered in New Zealand in 1957.

Its record falls into 2 separate stretches, with a longest absence of 1 year.

A second registrar first ranked it in 1954, and 59 years separate the first registrar to record it from the last.

Every figure here is counted from the seven official registrars Namewise holds. A position is only ever a place within the list that published it, and a record that thins or stops is a fact about what registrars printed — never about how many children received the name.

Where to go next

Records with a comparable body of evidence, so the catalogue can be read outward from this one. Each group states the rule it was selected by.

Next in the catalogue

The records either side of this one alphabetically.

Shireen · #380, 26y
Shirin · #414, 40y
Shiv · #809, 29y
Shiva · #2220, 17y

A comparable record

Records held by the same 5 registrars, over a similar number of ranked years, whose highest position is closest to this one. A similar body of evidence — never a claim that the names themselves are alike.

Jeffrey · #30, 73y
Neil · #30, 74y
Annette · #31, 72y
Joan · #31, 73y

Also first recorded in the 1950s

Records whose earliest ranking in Namewise's registrar data also falls between 1950 and 1959.

Jeffrey · #30, 73y
Kathryn · #30, 73y
Neil · #30, 74y
Tanya · #30, 66y

Shirley was ranked #30 in New Zealand · Girls in 1957. These are the names immediately either side of it on that published list — a fact about the registrar's own output, not a similarity judgement.

Shirley and the names beside it

Two names in the same published list are measured on the same scale, in the same year, by the same registrar — so these are positions that genuinely passed each other, not a similarity judgement. Drawn from the 2,573 names with a recorded popularity standing (common, familiar, uncommon), so a name outside that set could have passed Shirley without appearing here.

Shirley moved ahead of

Cheryl Compare
In 2019 they stood at #5591 and #2286 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2020 that had become #2843 and #5493.
Geraldine Compare
In 2019 they stood at #5591 and #5591 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2020 that had become #2843 and #5493.
Donna Compare
In 2021 they stood at #5581 and #4634 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2022 that had become #3148 and #5669.
Belinda Compare
In 2022 they stood at #5581 and #4634 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2023 that had become #3218 and #5687.

Moved ahead of Shirley

Meabh Compare
In 2020 they stood at #2843 and #3447 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2021 that had become #5581 and #1286.
Diane Compare
In 2020 they stood at #2843 and #3899 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2021 that had become #5581 and #2499.
Linnea Compare
In 2020 they stood at #2843 and #3117 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2021 that had become #5581 and #2711.
Karin Compare
In 2020 they stood at #2843 and #4535 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2021 that had become #5581 and #3192.

Moved the opposite way to Shirley

Annie Compare
Between 1964 and 2023 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Shirley went from #124 to #856 while Annie went from #112 to #48.
Charlotte Compare
Between 1964 and 2023 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Shirley went from #124 to #856 while Charlotte went from #171 to #60.
Clodagh Compare
Between 1964 and 2023 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Shirley went from #124 to #856 while Clodagh went from #149 to #54.
Emily Compare
Between 1964 and 2023 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Shirley went from #124 to #856 while Emily went from #180 to #3.

Moved the same way as Shirley

Alma Compare
Between 1964 and 2023 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Shirley went from #124 to #856 and Alma from #327 to #625.
Audrey Compare
Between 1964 and 2023 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Shirley went from #124 to #856 and Audrey from #85 to #856.
Eileen Compare
Between 1964 and 2023 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Shirley went from #124 to #856 and Eileen from #17 to #445.
Ingrid Compare
Between 1964 and 2023 in Republic of Ireland · Girls, Shirley went from #124 to #856 and Ingrid from #201 to #856.

What's not yet available

Meaning
Origin
Pronunciation
Nicknames and spelling variants

Absence from this list does not mean the name isn't genuinely meaningful or widely used — only that Namewise hasn't sourced and reviewed that content yet. Absence from a specific year or geography above does not prove zero use there either; official statistics only publish names above a minimum threshold.

Official popularity data is available for 5 regions, from 1952 to 2024. Highest recorded position: #30 in New Zealand in 1957. Source data last verified 2026-07-21.

Shirley

Shirley at a glance

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Shirley across 4 official records

Shirley by decade in Republic of Ireland · Girls

Shirley appears in

Popularity data

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1950s

Names published alongside Shirley

Shirley and the names beside it

Shirley moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Shirley

Moved the opposite way to Shirley

Moved the same way as Shirley

Shirley at a glance

Shirley across 4 official records

Shirley by decade in Republic of Ireland · Girls

Shirley appears in

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1950s

Names published alongside Shirley

Shirley and the names beside it

Shirley moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Shirley

Moved the opposite way to Shirley

Moved the same way as Shirley