Shirley Henderson
There are approximately 186 people named Shirley Henderson living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 1,842,765 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Shirley with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Henderson. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and ancestry information.
Expected bearers
186
1 in 1,842,765
Named Shirley
251K
Alive today
Named Henderson
254K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 251K
Rarity: Common
Gender: Female
Peak year: 1935
Average age: 74
Estimated bearers: 254K
Rarity: Common
Census rank: #109
Per 100K: 74.04
Top ancestry: White (59.6%)
First name trend
Shirley: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Shirley. The peak year was 1935 with 42,800 births. The average person named Shirley today is 74 years old.
Babies born per year
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Henderson surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Henderson, from the 2010 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 59.6%.
- White59.6%
- Black or African American34.0%
- Two or more races2.6%
- Hispanic or Latino2.5%
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9%
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5%
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Shirley has a living-bearer frequency of 0.0732% of the US population, based on 250,929 estimated living Americans carrying this first name (from SSA birth records going back to 1880, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables).
The surname Henderson appears at a rate of 74.04 per 100,000 residents in the 2010 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.0740%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 186 people with the full name Shirley Henderson. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
Related
Other people named Shirley
Related
Other people with the surname Henderson
FAQ
Shirley Henderson: questions and answers
How many people are named Shirley Henderson?
We estimate approximately 186 people in the United States share the full name Shirley Henderson. That works out to about 1 in 1,842,765 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.0732%) with the surname frequency (74.04 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Shirley Henderson?
We classify Shirley Henderson as "Very Rare". About 1 in 1,842,765 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Shirley a male or female name?
Shirley is predominantly female. Out of 695,797 total SSA registrations, 1.4% were male and 98.6% were female. See the full Shirley profile for detailed gender data.
Where does this data come from?
First-name data comes from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files (1880 to 2024). Surname data comes from the 2010 US Census Bureau decennial surname tables. Living-bearer estimates use CDC actuarial life tables to adjust for mortality. Read the full methodology.