Shirley Jones
There are approximately 1,161 people named Shirley Jones living in the United States today. That makes this name combination rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 295,223 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Shirley with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Jones. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and Census demographics where available.
Expected bearers
1,161
1 in 295,223
Named Shirley
251K
Alive today
Named Jones
1.6M
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 251K
Rarity: Common
Gender: Female
Peak year: 1935
Average age: 74
Top Census group: White (72.7%)
Estimated bearers: 1.6M
Rarity: Very Common
Census rank: #5
Per 100K: 462.78
Top ancestry: White (53.1%)
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
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Shirley
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the first name Shirley, from the 2020 US Census Bureau first-name tables. The largest published group is White at 72.7%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Shirley described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. These are self-reported numbers, and they describe the population who happened to carry the name Shirley at the time of the Census. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White72.7% · 261,898
- Black or African American18.1% · 65,282
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 12,432
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.0% · 10,800
- Two or more races2.0% · 7,185
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 2,555
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Jones surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Jones, from the 2020 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 53.1%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the surname Jones described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. These are self-reported numbers, and they describe the population who happened to carry the surname Jones at the time of the Census. A surname does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White53.1% · 733,895
- Black or African American37.2% · 514,871
- Two or more races4.9% · 67,406
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 46,276
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 12,618
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 8,184
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).
Even though the Census Bureau now publishes first-name tables, we do not use that file as the main first-name input for this estimate. The latest first-name Census snapshot is from 2020, which makes it 6 years old today. Because Census first-name data is only released once every 10 years, SSA birth records plus CDC survival rates give a better current estimate of how many people are likely alive with the name Shirley right now.
The surname Jones appears at a rate of 462.78 per 100,000 residents in the 2020 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.4628%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 1,161 people with the full name Shirley Jones. 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 Jones
FAQ
Shirley Jones: questions and answers
How many people are named Shirley Jones?
We estimate approximately 1,161 people in the United States share the full name Shirley Jones. That works out to about 1 in 295,223 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.0732%) with the surname frequency (462.78 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Shirley Jones?
We classify Shirley Jones as "Rare". About 1 in 295,223 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 2020 US Census Bureau decennial surname tables. Living-bearer estimates use CDC actuarial life tables to adjust for mortality. Read the full methodology.
How many Americans are named Shirley Jones?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.