Shirley

Shirley is a girl's and boy's baby name of Old English origin, from a place name meaning "bright clearing" — derived from scir (bright) and leah (woodland clearing). It began as a surname before becoming widely used as a first name in the 19th century.

Charlotte Brontë helped popularize it as a given name with her 1849 novel Shirley. The name soared in the 1930s thanks to child star Shirley Temple, dominating the top 10 for over a decade. It carries a cheerful, mid-century American warmth that is quietly coming back into favor.