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Shirley name popularity by year

Shirley: 15,891 US girls in 1950; 133 in 2025. Annual usage fell 99.2% from its 1950–2025 peak, in Social Security records.

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What the data shows

  • Shirley: 15,891 in 1950, 133 in 2025 (99% lower). Its low point was 105 in 2021.

About this chart

Shirley's high point in this series was 1950, when 15,891 US girls received the name. The count was 15,891 in 1950 and 259 in 2000. By 2025, it was 133, a decline of 99.2% from the peak displayed. The annual chart follows this exact spelling, rather than grouping together similar names or nicknames.

The more recent observations show 178 girls named Shirley in 2010 and 137 in 2020. Social Security counts names from applications associated with a birth year; these totals do not count everyone alive who has the name. The source suppresses names used fewer than five times, but every year shown here has a published count.

The data

Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, baby names from Social Security card applications (names given to 5 or more babies). Retrieved November 5, 2026. US girls with this exact spelling, by birth year. Counts reflect Social Security applications, not all people currently bearing the name. Names with fewer than five occurrences are suppressed; every displayed year has a reported count.

The rise and fall of Shirley, US girls named Shirley, 1950–2025, 1950–2025
DateShirley
195015,891
195113,919
195212,529
195312,148
195410,909
19559,755
19569,429
19578,855
19588,088
19597,284
19606,411
19615,638
19624,869
19634,387
19643,967
19653,370
19662,919
19672,508
19682,142
19691,867
19701,629
19711,588
19721,334
19731,155
19741,010
1975875
1976834
1977777
1978647
1979671
1980603
1981579
1982601
1983505
1984477
1985494
1986435
1987459
1988462
1989457
1990472
1991446
1992449
1993406
1994380
1995343
1996339
1997333
1998293
1999231
2000259
2001305
2002259
2003313
2004240
2005285
2006249
2007288
2008304
2009233
2010178
2011188
2012176
2013174
2014202
2015181
2016168
2017185
2018152
2019148
2020137
2021105
2022134
2023139
2024151
2025133

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Frequently asked questions

How popular is the name Shirley?

Social Security recorded 133 US girls named Shirley in 2025, the latest birth year in this series. The annual count was 99.2% below its displayed peak.

When was Shirley most popular?

Within the 1950–2025 series, Shirley reached its highest annual count in 1950, with 15,891 girls. This identifies the highest count, not the name’s rank or its share of all births.

What does the name count include?

The figures cover US girls recorded under the exact spelling Shirley in Social Security applications, grouped by birth year. They are annual name counts, not the number of living people with the name.

Where does this data come from?

U.S. Social Security Administration, baby names from Social Security card applications (names given to 5 or more babies). Retrieved November 5, 2026. US girls with this exact spelling, by birth year. Counts reflect Social Security applications, not all people currently bearing the name. Names with fewer than five occurrences are suppressed; every displayed year has a reported count. You can download the full table as a CSV from this page.

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The US fertility rate fell from 3.65 births per woman in 1960 to 1.63 in 2024, just above France (1.61) and the UK (1.55), and well above Japan (1.15).

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US birth rate

23.7 births per 1,000 people in 1960 to 10.6 in 2024: the US. World Bank crude birth rate, not births per woman.