Popularity of the name Shirley, 1880–2025
Shirley was at its most popular in 1935, when 42,366 girls were given the name: about 1 in 25 girls born in the U.S. that year, ranking #2. In 2025, 133 girls were named Shirley, ranking #1,581. In all, Social Security counts 686,383 girls named Shirley since 1880. Social Security’s records also list 9,551 boys named Shirley.
- Peak year
- 1935
- Rank in 1935
- #2
- Babies in 1935
- 42,366
- Rank in 2025
- #1,581
- Total since 1880
- 686,383
Where it stands now
Over the last ten years it has slipped from #1,311 in 2015 to #1,581 in 2025, with 181 girls named Shirley in 2015 and 133 in 2025.
Decade by decade
Shirley ranked highest in the 1930s, at #4, with 229,380 girls given the name that decade. It ranked #497 in the 1880s and #1,580 in the 2020s so far.
Every 20 years in the records: 8 in 1880 (#628), 110 in 1900 (#322), 4,713 in 1920 (#56), 17,881 in 1940 (#9), 6,411 in 1960 (#70), 603 in 1980 (#380), 259 in 2000 (#850) and 137 in 2020 (#1,545).
Highs and lows
The most girls given the name in a single year was 42,366, in 1935. Its best rank, #2, came in its peak year.
Every year
The table lists every year from 1880 to 2025 in which Social Security recorded at least 5 girls named Shirley, with the name’s rank that year.
| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880 | 8 | #628 |
| 1882 | 9 | #634 |
| 1883 | 18 | #451 |
| 1884 | 18 | #479 |
| 1885 | 16 | #542 |
| 1886 | 16 | #556 |
| 1887 | 20 | #499 |
| 1888 | 32 | #439 |
| 1889 | 42 | #371 |
| 1890 | 40 | #400 |
| 1891 | 35 | #423 |
| 1892 | 58 | #346 |
| 1893 | 52 | #374 |
| 1894 | 47 | #407 |
| 1895 | 43 | #433 |
| 1896 | 55 | #383 |
| 1897 | 61 | #372 |
| 1898 | 70 | #372 |
| 1899 | 74 | #346 |
| 1900 | 110 | #322 |
| 1901 | 95 | #305 |
| 1902 | 104 | #309 |
| 1903 | 102 | #309 |
| 1904 | 138 | #268 |
| 1905 | 162 | #256 |
| 1906 | 187 | #234 |
| 1907 | 247 | #207 |
| 1908 | 284 | #196 |
| 1909 | 281 | #203 |
| 1910 | 318 | #202 |
| 1911 | 362 | #198 |
| 1912 | 489 | #198 |
| 1913 | 684 | #169 |
| 1914 | 906 | #160 |
| 1915 | 1,135 | #162 |
| 1916 | 1,245 | #160 |
| 1917 | 1,800 | #123 |
| 1918 | 2,654 | #97 |
| 1919 | 3,149 | #89 |
| 1920 | 4,713 | #56 |
| 1921 | 5,695 | #44 |
| 1922 | 6,407 | #39 |
| 1923 | 7,918 | #26 |
| 1924 | 9,489 | #19 |
| 1925 | 10,513 | #17 |
| 1926 | 11,762 | #14 |
| 1927 | 13,314 | #9 |
| 1928 | 14,215 | #10 |
| 1929 | 14,576 | #9 |
| 1930 | 14,775 | #11 |
| 1931 | 14,405 | #9 |
| 1932 | 14,476 | #9 |
| 1933 | 14,320 | #9 |
| 1934 | 22,841 | #4 |
| 1935 | 42,366 | #2 |
| 1936 | 35,161 | #2 |
| 1937 | 26,823 | #4 |
| 1938 | 23,766 | #5 |
| 1939 | 20,447 | #5 |
| 1940 | 17,881 | #9 |
| 1941 | 16,954 | #10 |
| 1942 | 17,750 | #12 |
| 1943 | 17,816 | #12 |
| 1944 | 16,309 | #15 |
| 1945 | 16,150 | #14 |
| 1946 | 17,870 | #18 |
| 1947 | 17,648 | #19 |
| 1948 | 16,121 | #20 |
| 1949 | 17,281 | #18 |
| 1950 | 15,891 | #19 |
| 1951 | 13,919 | #27 |
| 1952 | 12,529 | #28 |
| 1953 | 12,148 | #29 |
| 1954 | 10,909 | #33 |
| 1955 | 9,755 | #37 |
| 1956 | 9,429 | #41 |
| 1957 | 8,855 | #46 |
| 1958 | 8,088 | #52 |
| 1959 | 7,284 | #61 |
| 1960 | 6,411 | #70 |
| 1961 | 5,638 | #85 |
| 1962 | 4,869 | #96 |
| 1963 | 4,387 | #99 |
| 1964 | 3,967 | #103 |
| 1965 | 3,370 | #111 |
| 1966 | 2,919 | #123 |
| 1967 | 2,508 | #142 |
| 1968 | 2,142 | #150 |
| 1969 | 1,867 | #173 |
| 1970 | 1,629 | #198 |
| 1971 | 1,588 | #193 |
| 1972 | 1,334 | #209 |
| 1973 | 1,155 | #217 |
| 1974 | 1,010 | #254 |
| 1975 | 875 | #278 |
| 1976 | 834 | #277 |
| 1977 | 777 | #307 |
| 1978 | 647 | #336 |
| 1979 | 671 | #346 |
| 1980 | 603 | #380 |
| 1981 | 579 | #390 |
| 1982 | 601 | #384 |
| 1983 | 505 | #428 |
| 1984 | 477 | #438 |
| 1985 | 494 | #441 |
| 1986 | 435 | #491 |
| 1987 | 459 | #473 |
| 1988 | 462 | #491 |
| 1989 | 457 | #512 |
| 1990 | 472 | #509 |
| 1991 | 446 | #521 |
| 1992 | 449 | #530 |
| 1993 | 406 | #579 |
| 1994 | 380 | #593 |
| 1995 | 343 | #634 |
| 1996 | 339 | #654 |
| 1997 | 333 | #660 |
| 1998 | 293 | #742 |
| 1999 | 231 | #914 |
| 2000 | 259 | #850 |
| 2001 | 305 | #778 |
| 2002 | 259 | #878 |
| 2003 | 313 | #788 |
| 2004 | 240 | #987 |
| 2005 | 285 | #885 |
| 2006 | 249 | #1,026 |
| 2007 | 288 | #937 |
| 2008 | 304 | #905 |
| 2009 | 233 | #1,091 |
| 2010 | 178 | #1,317 |
| 2011 | 188 | #1,266 |
| 2012 | 176 | #1,334 |
| 2013 | 174 | #1,338 |
| 2014 | 202 | #1,205 |
| 2015 | 181 | #1,311 |
| 2016 | 168 | #1,386 |
| 2017 | 185 | #1,274 |
| 2018 | 152 | #1,447 |
| 2019 | 148 | #1,483 |
| 2020 | 137 | #1,545 |
| 2021 | 105 | #1,885 |
| 2022 | 134 | #1,583 |
| 2023 | 139 | #1,534 |
| 2024 | 151 | #1,452 |
| 2025 | 133 | #1,581 |
How these numbers are counted
Social Security publishes, for every year since 1880, how many babies of each sex were given each name, counting any name given to at least 5. A name’s rank is its place that year among names for the same sex, by number of babies. Names with the same count share a rank here, while Social Security’s own lists break ties alphabetically, so a rank can differ from theirs by a place or two. A name’s share is the number of babies given it divided by all babies of that sex in the data that year, and its peak is the year that share was highest. Shares rather than counts set the peak, because far more babies were born in some years than others: counting babies alone would pull nearly every name’s peak toward the 1946–1964 baby boom.
Source: the U.S. Social Security Administration’s national baby name data, from Social Security card applications for babies born in the U.S. A name is left out of a year when fewer than 5 babies of one sex got it, and counts before about 1937 are incomplete, because many people born then never applied for a card. See how Baby Boom builds its data. Figures may contain errors.