Shirli
A feminine name of modern Hebrew origin meaning "my song" or "my poem".
Name Census estimates that about 11 living Americans carry the first name Shirli. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Shirli today is around 77 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shirli births was 1949 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shirli. 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 Shirli is about 77 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Shirlis were born before 1959.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Shirli. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
11
~ 1 in 31,159,485 Americans
Peak year
1949
7 babies that year
Average age
77
years old
1953 SSA rank
#6,400
Tracked since 1935
Census
Shirli in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 131 people with the first name Shirli, which placed it at #48,547 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
#48,547
National first-name rank
People counted
131
131 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
79.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shirli
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shirli is White at 79.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (9.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (5.3%). 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 Shirli 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 Shirli at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White79.4% · 104
- Hispanic or Latino9.2% · 12
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.3% · 7
- Black or African American3.1% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.5% · 2
- Two or more races1.5% · 2
Popularity
Shirli: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shirli from the 1930s through to the 1950s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1940s, with 12 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1940s peak, Shirli remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Shirli 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 Shirli during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Shirli
The name Shirli is believed to have its origins in the Hebrew language, derived from the biblical name Shir, meaning "song" or "poem." It was a relatively uncommon name in ancient times, with few references to its usage.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Shirli can be found in the Book of Psalms, where it is mentioned as a poetic term for a song or hymn. However, it is unclear whether this was used as a personal name during that period.
The name gained more prominence during the Middle Ages, particularly in Jewish communities across Europe. It was often used as a variant of the more common name Sarah, which shares a similar root meaning of "princess" or "noblewoman."
One notable figure from this era was Shirli ben Yitzchak, a renowned Jewish scholar and physician who lived in the 12th century. He was born in Marseille, France, and made significant contributions to the study of medicine and Jewish philosophy.
In the 16th century, the name Shirli appeared in various historical records, including those of the Spanish Inquisition. During this period, many Jews were forced to convert to Christianity or face persecution, and some may have adopted the name Shirli as a way to conceal their Jewish heritage.
Another notable figure was Shirli Caro, an Italian-Jewish composer and musician from the late 16th century. She was renowned for her skill in composing madrigals and was one of the few female composers of her time to gain widespread recognition.
In the 19th century, the name Shirli became more popular among English-speaking communities, particularly in the United States and Britain. One notable figure was Shirli Chisholm, an American politician and author who was the first African American woman elected to the United States Congress in 1968. She later made a groundbreaking run for the Democratic nomination for President in 1972.
Another notable bearer of the name was Shirli Temple Black, an American actress, singer, and diplomat who was one of the most popular and influential child stars of the 1930s. She was born in 1928 and later served as a United States ambassador to Ghana and Czechoslovakia.
Overall, the name Shirli has a rich history spanning various cultures and time periods, with its roots firmly grounded in the Hebrew language and Jewish tradition. Despite its relative rarity, it has been borne by notable figures throughout history, from scholars and composers to politicians and diplomats.
People
Shirli + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shirli 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
Shirli: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shirli?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 11 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shirli 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 31,159,485 US residents.
Is Shirli a common name?
We classify Shirli as "Very Rare". It ranks above 30.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 22 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shirli most popular?
The single biggest year for Shirli was 1949, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shirli is about 77 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Shirli in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 131 people with the name Shirli, or 0.04 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #48,547 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 Shirli 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 Shirli?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Shirli leans strongly female. 134 people counted with this name were female (97.8%), compared with 3 male bearers (2.2%). 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 Shirli?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Shirli is White at 79.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (9.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (5.3%). 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 Shirli most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Shirli in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.4% (104 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 Shirli in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shirli a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Shirli 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 Shirli still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shirli 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 Shirli 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 are named Shirli?
Find out how many people have the name Shirli on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.