People with the first name Shirley
360,153
About 1 in 920 Americans had this first name in the 2020 Census.
Measured, privacy-protected national Census count—not a total of historical baby-name records.
U.S. first-name statistics
How common is Shirley?
Shirley was the #138 most frequent first name in the 2020 Census.
National rank
#138
More common than 99.7% of listed first names
Peak year
1935
42,801 SSA-recorded births
2025 births
133
#2,917 across first names
Census frequency
1 in 920
Across the 2020 U.S. population
Sex distribution
Reported in the 2020 Census first-name table.
0.4% male99.6% female
Demographic distribution
Aggregated race and Hispanic-origin reporting in the 2020 Census name table.
Reading the result
Shirley across two different records
The Census count answers “how many people had this name?” using a national snapshot of living residents in 2020. The SSA series answers “when was this name popular?” using Social Security card applications associated with births.
Shirley reached its highest published annual SSA count in 1935, with 42,801 recorded births. In 2025, SSA recorded 133 babies with the name.
Names do not determine a person’s identity. Demographic percentages above describe national aggregates and should never be applied to an individual.
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