Shelley

femaleStatistical record

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

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

Shelley: Recorded since 1959, it reached #37 in 1974, and it stood at #5,891 in 2024.

4registrars recorded it
70times a registrar ranked it
66years from first to last
#37highest recorded position
21groupings it qualifies for

What stands out in Shelley's record

Held a top-100 place for 25 years running. Names by top-100 run

Region

Falling

among girls in England and Wales · 1996–2024

View as table

England and Wales · Girls rank by year
Year	Rank
1996	#392
1997	#565
1998	#522
1999	#752
2000	#748
2001	#1107
2002	#1066
2003	#996
2004	#1209
2005	#2084
2006	#3116
2007	#2085
2008	#3860
2009	#3031
2010	#3533
2011	#3549
2012	#4171
2015	#5730
2020	#5493
2024	#5891

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 22 of the 30 years from 1974 to 2003.

In 2003: #559 among girls in Republic of Ireland, #996 among girls in England and Wales.

Official data from 4 national registrars across 4 regions, 1959–2024 · Office for National Statistics. Data sources

Popularity journey

First recorded1959
First recorded at #97 among girls in New Zealand in 1959 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
New Zealand · Girls
Highest recorded1959–1983
Highest recorded position: #37 among girls in New Zealand, in 1974 (recorded 1959–1983).
New Zealand · Girls
Most recent2024
Most recently recorded at #5891 among girls in England and Wales, in 2024.
England and Wales · Girls

Shelley appears in 4 of the published lists Namewise holds. The longest record is New Zealand · Girls, which has ranked it in 25 years beginning in 1959, and has registered 2,569 births with the name.

Shelley 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.

Shelley'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	#428 (1974)	#320 (1986)	#559 (2003)	22 of 30	106 (1974–2003)	9 (1986)
England and Wales · Girls	#392 (1996)	#392 (1996)	#5891 (2024)	20 of 29	389 (1996–2024)	84 (1996)
New Zealand · Girls	#97 (1959)	#37 (1974)	#82 (1983)	25 of 25	2,569 (1959–1983)	151 (1971)
Northern Ireland · Girls	#241 (1997)	#241 (1997)	#282 (2000)	3 of 4	13 (1997–2000)	6 (1997)

Shelley by decade in New Zealand · 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 Shelley in New Zealand · Girls, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
1950s	70	1 of 10	70
1960s	1,056	10 of 10	106
1970sbusiest	1,143	10 of 10	114
1980s	300	4 of 10	75

Across New Zealand · Girls, the 1970s were its busiest decade, averaging 114 births a year.

Its sharpest single-year move came between 1975 and 1976, when recorded births fell by 30, from 124 to 94.

See the names New Zealandhas recorded the most births with →

Shelley 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 4 regions, from 1959 to 2024. Highest recorded position: #37 in New Zealand in 1974.

Shelley'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	#5891	3	High	Verified
2020	England and Wales	female	#5493	3	High	Verified
2015	England and Wales	female	#5730	3	High	Verified
2012	England and Wales	female	#4171	5	High	Verified
2011	England and Wales	female	#3549	6	High	Verified
2010	England and Wales	female	#3533	6	High	Verified
2009	England and Wales	female	#3031	7	High	Verified
2008	England and Wales	female	#3860	5	High	Verified
2007	England and Wales	female	#2085	11	High	Verified
2006	England and Wales	female	#3116	6	High	Verified
2005	England and Wales	female	#2084	10	High	Verified
2004	England and Wales	female	#1209	19	High	Verified
2003	England and Wales	female	#996	24	High	Verified
2002	England and Wales	female	#1066	20	High	Verified
2001	England and Wales	female	#1107	18	High	Verified
2000	England and Wales	female	#748	31	High	Verified
1999	England and Wales	female	#752	30	High	Verified
1998	England and Wales	female	#522	52	High	Verified
1997	England and Wales	female	#565	46	High	Verified
1996	England and Wales	female	#392	84	High	Verified
1983	New Zealand	female	#82	63	High	Verified
1982	New Zealand	female	#72	71	High	Verified
1981	New Zealand	female	#48	93	High	Verified
1980	New Zealand	female	#66	73	High	Verified
1979	New Zealand	female	#94	57	High	Verified
1978	New Zealand	female	#74	67	High	Verified
1977	New Zealand	female	#58	94	High	Verified
1976	New Zealand	female	#60	94	High	Verified
1975	New Zealand	female	#46	124	High	Verified
1974	New Zealand	female	#37	148	High	Verified
1973	New Zealand	female	#48	147	High	Verified
1972	New Zealand	female	#51	138	High	Verified
1971	New Zealand	female	#49	151	High	Verified
1970	New Zealand	female	#54	123	High	Verified
1969	New Zealand	female	#66	102	High	Verified
1968	New Zealand	female	#65	106	High	Verified
1967	New Zealand	female	#72	91	High	Verified
1966	New Zealand	female	#63	107	High	Verified
1965	New Zealand	female	#72	93	High	Verified
1964	New Zealand	female	#67	108	High	Verified
1963	New Zealand	female	#65	120	High	Verified
1962	New Zealand	female	#58	131	High	Verified
1961	New Zealand	female	#72	112	High	Verified
1960	New Zealand	female	#85	86	High	Verified
1959	New Zealand	female	#97	70	High	Verified
2000	Northern Ireland	female	#282	4	High	Verified
1999	Northern Ireland	female	#344	3	High	Verified
1997	Northern Ireland	female	#241	6	High	Verified
2003	Republic of Ireland	female	#559	4	High	Verified
2001	Republic of Ireland	female	#606	3	High	Verified
1999	Republic of Ireland	female	#528	3	High	Verified
1997	Republic of Ireland	female	#576	3	High	Verified
1996	Republic of Ireland	female	#356	7	High	Verified
1995	Republic of Ireland	female	#451	4	High	Verified
1994	Republic of Ireland	female	#374	6	High	Verified
1993	Republic of Ireland	female	#340	8	High	Verified
1991	Republic of Ireland	female	#515	3	High	Verified
1989	Republic of Ireland	female	#377	6	High	Verified
1987	Republic of Ireland	female	#417	5	High	Verified
1986	Republic of Ireland	female	#320	9	High	Verified
1985	Republic of Ireland	female	#421	5	High	Verified
1983	Republic of Ireland	female	#476	4	High	Verified
1982	Republic of Ireland	female	#467	4	High	Verified
1981	Republic of Ireland	female	#351	8	High	Verified
1980	Republic of Ireland	female	#483	4	High	Verified
1979	Republic of Ireland	female	#523	3	High	Verified
1978	Republic of Ireland	female	#522	3	High	Verified
1977	Republic of Ireland	female	#429	5	High	Verified
1975	Republic of Ireland	female	#406	5	High	Verified
1974	Republic of Ireland	female	#428	4	High	Verified

England and Wales hub — collected by Office for National Statistics
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 4 registrars between 1959 and 2024, ranked in 53 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #37, first reached in 1974.

It held a top-100 place in 25 years, 25 of them consecutive.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 151 births, registered in New Zealand in 1971.

Its record falls into 8 separate stretches, with a longest absence of 4 years.

A second registrar first ranked it in 1974, and 38 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.

Shelby · #151, 31y
Sheldon · #402, 29y
Shelly · #326, 29y
Shenaya · #3549, 10y

A comparable record

Records held by the same 4 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.

Odhran · #35, 49y
Beverley · #40, 55y
Rowan · #41, 55y
Rochelle · #32, 51y

Also first recorded in the 1950s

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

Alina · #37, 63y
Leslie · #37, 67y
Narelle · #37, 25y
Russell · #37, 70y

Shelley was ranked #37 in New Zealand · Girls in 1974. 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.

Shelley 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 Shelley without appearing here.

Shelley moved ahead of

Rhonda Compare
In 1995 they stood at #515 and #457 in Republic of Ireland · Girls; by 1996 that had become #356 and #534.
Marilyn Compare
In 1980 they stood at #483 and #483 in Republic of Ireland · Girls; by 1981 that had become #351 and #471.
Cassandra Compare
In 2002 they stood at #528 and #439 in Republic of Ireland · Girls; by 2003 that had become #559 and #655.
Jude Compare
In 2002 they stood at #606 and #441 in Republic of Ireland · Girls; by 2003 that had become #559 and #655.

Moved ahead of Shelley

Francis Compare
In 2019 they stood at #4171 and #4838 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2020 that had become #5493 and #2449.
Ellinor Compare
In 2019 they stood at #4171 and #5876 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2020 that had become #5493 and #2843.
Jesse Compare
In 2010 they stood at #3533 and #4688 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2011 that had become #3549 and #1489.
Diane Compare
In 2007 they stood at #2085 and #2627 in England and Wales · Girls; by 2008 that had become #3860 and #2022.

Moved the opposite way to Shelley

Ada Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Shelley went from #392 to #5891 while Ada went from #2683 to #40.
Alma Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Shelley went from #392 to #5891 while Alma went from #2096 to #234.
Alyssa Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Shelley went from #392 to #5891 while Alyssa went from #783 to #285.
Amalie Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Shelley went from #392 to #5891 while Amalie went from #2096 to #1128.

Moved the same way as Shelley

Abigail Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Shelley went from #392 to #5891 and Abigail from #21 to #154.
Aimee Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Shelley went from #392 to #5891 and Aimee from #70 to #1603.
Aisling Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Shelley went from #392 to #5891 and Aisling from #440 to #2000.
Alex Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Girls, Shelley went from #392 to #5891 and Alex from #161 to #2253.

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 4 regions, from 1959 to 2024. Highest recorded position: #37 in New Zealand in 1974. Source data last verified 2026-07-21.

Shelley

Shelley at a glance

What stands out in Shelley's record

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Shelley across 4 official records

Shelley by decade in New Zealand · Girls

Shelley 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 Shelley

Shelley and the names beside it

Shelley moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Shelley

Moved the opposite way to Shelley

Moved the same way as Shelley

Shelley at a glance

What stands out in Shelley's record

Shelley across 4 official records

Shelley by decade in New Zealand · Girls

Shelley 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 Shelley

Shelley and the names beside it

Shelley moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Shelley

Moved the opposite way to Shelley

Moved the same way as Shelley