# Shirley

> English word · Proper noun · IPA /ˈʃɜː(ɹ)li/ · frequency rank #10,767

## Definitions
1. An English habitational surname
2. A male given name transferred from the surname.
3. A female given name transferred from the surname, popular from the 1920s to the 1950s.
4. Various places in England:
5. Various places in England:
6. Various places in England:
7. Various places in England:
8. Various places in England:
9. Various places in the United States:
10. Various places in the United States:
11. Various places in the United States:
12. Various places in the United States:
13. Various places in the United States:
14. Various places in the United States:
15. Various places in the United States:
16. Various places in the United States:
17. Various places in the United States:
18. Various places in the United States:
19. Various places in the United States:
20. Various places in the United States:
21. Various places in the United States:
22. Various places in the United States:
23. A suburb of Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand.

## Etymology
English place name from Old English sċīr (“county”) + lēah (“meadow”). Equivalent to shire + -ley (“lea”). More at shire, leigh.

## Easily confused with
- **smiley** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shirley-vs-smiley)
- **Sibley** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shirley-vs-sibley)
- **shire** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shire-vs-shirley)
- **Shelley** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shelley-vs-shirley)
- **Shipley** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shipley-vs-shirley)
- **Sharkey** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sharkey-vs-shirley)

## Common misspellings (11)
`hsirley`, `shhirley`, `shilrey`, `shirely`, `shirleyy`, `shirlley`, `shirlye`, `shirrley`, `shriley`, `sihrley`, `sshirley`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/shirley