Shirley Family History
Shirley Name Meaning
English: habitational name from any of the places so named such as Shirley (Warwickshire) Shirley in Millbrook (Hampshire) Shirley (Surrey) Shirley in Owston (Yorkshire) and Shirley (Derbyshire). The placenames probably derive from Old English scīr ‘bright’ + lēah ‘woodland clearing’ though some may have scīr ‘district shire’ as the initial element if they lie on a boundary; for example the Warwickshire place lies on the Warwickshire-Worcestershire boundary. The name Shirley first appears in Ireland in the late 17th century following the granting of lands to a Shirley family in the barony of Farney Monaghan.
Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022