Wed, 12 Mar 2025 13:36:57 EDT
Shirley
Shirley is a surname derived from a placename. In Anglo-Saxon, a scire leah is a clear meadow.
Charlotte Brontë’s 1849 novel Shirley inspired the use of the name as a name for girls. In that book, the character Shirley Keeldar’s parents wanted to bestow the surname on a son, but having a daughter, they gave her the name instead.
Traditionally, a son that was not the first-born son was often given a family surname for a first or second name. The first-born son was usually named for his father.