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Shelley

Girl name · 954 babies recorded · 1974–2025

Shelley: 954 babies born in Scotland since 1974, given to girls, peaking at 77 births in 1980.

The name Shelley began as an English surname, deriving from a place name meaning “clearing on a shelf” – from Old English *scelf* (ledge or shelf) and *leah* (woodland clearing). Most famously associated with the Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, the name later became popular as a given name for girls in the mid-20th century. Actress Shelley Duvall brought it to modern attention, while Shelley Long played the iconic Diane Chambers on *Cheers*. The name also connects to several English villages, including Shelley in West Yorkshire, which shares the same etymological root. As a feminine first name, Shelley enjoyed particular popularity in the 1960s and 1970s, and it is sometimes considered a diminutive of Rachel or a variant of Shirley, though its origins are distinct.