Shirley

From an English surname originally derived from a place name meaning “bright clearing,” from Old English scir “bright” and leah “woodland, clearing,” Shirley later became known as the name of a main character in Charlotte Brontë’s semi-autobiographical novel Shirley (1849). Although it was already popular in the United States, the child actress Shirley Temple (1928–2014) helped increase its use further, and by 1935 it was the second most common name for girls.

Shirley rose from #943 to #908 for girls between 2007 and 2008. Its highest annual birth count came in 1935, with 42,366 births.