How common is the surname Shelley?

14,300 people in the United States had the surname Shelley in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 21,591 Americans. It ranked 2,533rd of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Shelley?

Barbara Shelley, British actress (1932-2021), followed by Carole Shelley.

Where is the surname Shelley most common?

Wikidata records people named Shelley in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia.

How do you pronounce Shelley?

Shelley is /ˈʃɛli/, 2 syllables.

Is the surname Shelley getting more or less common?

More common. 13,995 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 14,300 in 2010, up 2.2%.

Is Shelley also a first name?

Yes. Shelley is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.

The surname Shelley

An English place surname, carried by 14,300 people in the United States.

Pronounced /ˈʃɛli/ 2 syllables Soundex S400 Also a first name

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Shelley is more common than 98.4% of them.

Origin

English origin

From Old English, meaning "clearing on a bank".

Shelley is a place surname: taken from where an ancestor lived or came from.

One of 1,446 English surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 14,300 people named Shelley in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 21,591 Americans. That is up 2.2% since 2000, when the Census counted 13,995.

#2,533

rank among US surnames

14,300

people in 2010

4.8

per 100,000 Americans

+2.2%

change since 2000 (was #2,373)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#2,524	Linton	14,354	21,509
#2,526	Mehta	14,342	21,527
#2,527	Mayberry	14,326	21,551
#2,528	Barger	14,324	21,554
#2,529	Alley	14,323	21,556
#2,530	Oswald	14,322	21,557
#2,531	Stoddard	14,317	21,565

Who is named Shelley

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

85% of people named Shelley identified as white (not Hispanic), 9.7% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.0% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 85%
Black (not Hispanic) 9.7%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.0%
Two or more races 1.7%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.8%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.7%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Shelleys

6 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Barbara Shelley
British actress (1932-2021)
Carole Shelley
British actress (1939-2018)
Steve Shelley
Alternative rock drummer, born 1962
Michael Shelley
Australian marathon runner, born 1983
John Shelley
American politician (1905–1974)
Bruce Shelley
American video game designer, born 2000

Notable Shelleys come mostly from the United States (3), the United Kingdom (2) and Australia (1).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Variant spellings

Shelly

Surnames that sound like Shelley

Shelley has the Soundex code S400, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code S400.

Other English surnames

All 1,446 English surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Shelley come from?: From Old English, meaning "clearing on a bank".
How common is the surname Shelley?: 14,300 people in the United States had the surname Shelley in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 21,591 Americans. It ranked 2,533rd of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Shelley?: In the 2010 Census, 85% of people named Shelley identified as white (not Hispanic), and 9.7% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Shelley?: Barbara Shelley, British actress (1932-2021), followed by Carole Shelley.
Where is the surname Shelley most common?: Wikidata records people named Shelley in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia.
How do you pronounce Shelley?: Shelley is /ˈʃɛli/, 2 syllables.
What type of surname is Shelley?: Shelley is a place surname, taken from where an ancestor lived or came from.
Is the surname Shelley getting more or less common?: More common. 13,995 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 14,300 in 2010, up 2.2%.
What are other spellings of Shelley?: Shelly.
Is Shelley also a first name?: Yes. Shelley is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.