Shirlene
A feminine name, a variant of Shirley meaning "bright meadow".
Name Census estimates that about 2,931 living Americans carry the first name Shirlene. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Shirlene today is around 67 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shirlene births was 1956 (159 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shirlene. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Shirlene is about 67 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Shirlenes were born before 1969.
People living today
2.9K
~ 1 in 116,941 Americans
Peak year
1956
159 babies that year
Average age
67
years old
2010 SSA rank
#19,431
Tracked since 1923
Census
Shirlene in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 3,387 people with the first name Shirlene, which placed it at #5,156 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#5,156
National first-name rank
People counted
3.4K
3,387 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
53.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shirlene
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shirlene is White at 53.3%. The next largest groups are Black (35.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Shirlene described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Shirlene at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White53.3% · 1,806
- Black or African American35.2% · 1,192
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.6% · 121
- American Indian and Alaska Native3.1% · 105
- Two or more races2.7% · 92
- Hispanic or Latino2.1% · 71
Popularity
Shirlene: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shirlene from the 1920s through to the 2010s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 1,356 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Shirlene by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Shirlene during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Shirlenes live
The SSA's state-level files cover 30 states and territories. Texas, California, North Carolina recorded the most babies named Shirlene, while New Jersey, Kansas, Indiana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 77 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Shirlene
The name Shirlene is an English feminine name derived from the Old English words "scir" meaning "bright" or "shining" and "lēne" meaning "lane" or "path". It is a variant spelling of the more common name Shirley, which emerged in the Middle Ages as a surname before becoming a popular given name.
Shirlene can be traced back to the 12th century, when it was used as a surname for people who lived near a bright or shining lane or path. The earliest recorded example of the name Shirlene dates back to 1273, when it appeared in the Hundred Rolls of Huntingdonshire, England, as a reference to a woman named Shirlene de Brampton.
In the 14th century, the name Shirlene began to be used as a given name, particularly among the English nobility and gentry. One of the earliest recorded instances of its use as a first name was in 1327, when a woman named Shirlene de Montfort was mentioned in the Patent Rolls of Edward III.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Shirlene. One of the earliest was Shirlene de Vere (1362-1400), an English noblewoman and the daughter of John de Vere, 7th Earl of Oxford. Another notable Shirlene was Shirlene Bulstrode (1550-1628), an English poet and courtier during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.
In the 18th century, the name Shirlene gained popularity among the upper classes in England and Scotland. One notable bearer of the name was Shirlene Seton (1718-1792), a Scottish aristocrat and socialite who was a prominent figure in the literary and intellectual circles of Edinburgh.
In the 19th century, the name Shirlene appeared in works of literature, such as the novel "The Mill on the Floss" by George Eliot, where a character named Shirlene Lammeter is featured. Another notable Shirlene from this period was Shirlene Paget (1835-1901), an English artist and illustrator known for her portraits and book illustrations.
The 20th century saw the name Shirlene become more widely used, particularly in the United States. One notable bearer of the name was Shirlene Ardizzone (1927-2009), an American artist and children's book illustrator who was best known for her illustrations in the "Little Tim" book series.
While the name Shirlene has fallen somewhat out of fashion in recent decades, it remains a unique and historically significant name with roots dating back to the Middle Ages in England.
People
Shirlene + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shirlene as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with S
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Shirlene: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shirlene?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,931 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shirlene going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 116,941 US residents.
Is Shirlene a common name?
We classify Shirlene as "Rare". It ranks above 95.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 4,856 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shirlene most popular?
The single biggest year for Shirlene was 1956, when 159 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shirlene is about 67 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Shirlene in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 3,387 people with the name Shirlene, or 1.12 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #5,156 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Shirlene in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Shirlene?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shirlene appears almost entirely female. Of the 3,391 people counted with this name, 99.8% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Shirlene?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shirlene is White at 53.3%. The next largest groups are Black (35.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Shirlene most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Shirlene in the 2020 Census, accounting for 53.3% (1,806 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Shirlene in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shirlene a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Shirlene in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Shirlene still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shirlene in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Shirlene can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have Shirlene as a first name?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.