Comments
Meaning
Usage
Pronunciation
Famous
Impression
Other
I don't care if it's old fashioned, it's so cute! It makes me picture a little girl with curly hair and a fluffy dress and Shirley Temple floats, which I wouldn't call a bad association.
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It seems like everyone has to say "surely you must be joking" when they hear this name. That would get tiresome!
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Also Portuguese (Brazilian): https://www.behindthename.com/name/shirley/top/brazil
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Shirley Jackson was an American author known for her short stories as well as being a master of horror and thrillers. Notable works include "The Lottery", "The Haunting of Hill House", and "We Have Always Lived In The Castle".
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Teri Thornton (born Shirley Enid Avery; 1934 – 2000) was an American jazz singer.
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Shirley Blythe was the 3rd son of Anne Shirley and Gilbert Blythe. Anne named her own last name.
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Shirley May France (1932 – 2012) was an American swimmer. She was, at the time, the youngest woman to attempt to swim the English Channel, although her three attempts in 1949 and 1950 were unsuccessful. She was the first woman to swim across Lake George in the U.S. states of New York and Vermont.
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Shirley Muldowney, also known professionally as "Cha Cha" and the "First Lady of Drag Racing", is an American auto racer. She was the first woman to receive a license from the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) to drive a Top Fuel dragster. She won the NHRA Top Fuel championship in 1977, 1980, and 1982, becoming the first person to win two and three Top Fuel titles. She won a total of 18 NHRA national events.
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I get that this is a very old-fashioned name that isn’t really used anymore, but I still like it a lot.
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Shirley Chisholm (née St. Hill; 1924 - 2005) was an American politician who in 1968 became the first black woman elected to the United States Congress. Chisholm represented New York's 12th congressional district, a district centered on Bedford–Stuyvesant, for seven terms from 1969 to 1983. In 1972, she became the first black candidate for a major-party nomination for President of the United States, and the first woman to run for the Democratic Party's nomination.
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After the former ambassador to Czechoslovakia died, one of her former staff members shared the following story: "Shortly after communism fell in Czechoslovakia, a seated Ambassador Black called her senior staff together into a private, closed-door meeting. Looking them sternly in the eye, she told them ‘I’m only going to do this once, just once.’ And with that, she stood up, smiled, and pranced around the room singing ‘On the Good Ship Lollypop.’”
An odd display for a sitting US ambassador? Perhaps. But Shirley Temple Black was no ordinary ambassador.
As Shirley Temple, she had gained international fame as a child film star of the Great Depression. Her popularity waned after puberty, and she retired from film at age 22. A longer career on television followed, but after a failed sitcom pilot failed in 1965, actress Shirley Temple became diplomat Shirley Temple Black. (After a first marriage ended in divorce, Shirley Temple married Charles Alden Black in 1950; as ambassador, she would be Shirley Temple Black.)
Ambassadorships are unique political appointments. Ambassadors are divided into main two types: career diplomats (CDs) and political appointees (PAs). CAs are members of the US Foreign Service, nonpartisan actors who carve careers in diplomacy.
PAs are a smaller bunch, and usually take one of three forms.
The most common is the "Political Thank You." These include major backers (financial or endorsement), well-liked staffers, or beloved party figures. (In the Biden administration, this group include two Kennedys, a few major Republican women, and an Olympic figure skater.)
The second is the "Soft Landing." (The most famous example here is George H.W. Bush, who was appointed to two ambassadorships in the 1970s because party leaders felt bad that he had lost multiple races.).
The rarest is the "Strategically Get Them Out of the Country." (Pres. Barack Obama did this with potential 2012 GOP contender Gov. Jon Huntsman (R-UT) in 2009, sending him to China.)
Shirley Temple Black started firmly as a PD, but was deeply respected by CDs. After losing a congressional race, she spent the rest of her career in diplomacy.
I won’t get into Black’s film career much here. She was born in 1928, and appeared in her first film in 1931. It was 1934’s “Bright Eyes,” a film catered specifically to her, that launched her international fame. By age 10, she had appeared in 29 films, many of them classics. Her career waned as she got a bit older, though, and by 1950, it seemed she and Hollywood had grown mutually tired of one another. She continued in television into the 1960s, but after a failed sitcom pilot in 1965, she ceased acting. Her final on-screen role was in a 1963 episode of “The Red Skelton Show,” when she was 35.
As a young woman, Black became involved with the Republican Party. Though regarded as a liberal bastion today, Hollywood of the 1950s and 1960s was a much more Republican place. John Wayne, Charlton Heston, Helen Hayes, Ginger Rogers, and Mary Tyler Moore all were publicly Republican, though their stances on issues varied widely. Ronald Reagan famously turned a B-movie acting career into a political career in California. Some of this conservativism was based in the McCarthyism of the early 1950s—purported communist sympathies could kill a career. Things began shifting by the late 1960s; the film “Bonnie and Clyde” (1967) shocked much of the moviegoing public and was joined by films like “Easy Rider” (1969), which reflecting changing worldviews in Hollywood and beyond. By this point, though, Shirley Temple Black was no longer acting; her politics were well-engrained and she had embarked on a new career.
In 1967, Shirley Temple Black decided to enter a special election to Congress, to represent California’s 11th district upon the death of Rep. J. Arthur Younger (R-CA). In the open primary, Black finished second in voting tallies, behind Republican law school professor Pete McCloskey. Though she had decisively defeated the highest-performing Democrat, Roy A. Archibald, earning more than double his vote tally, she did not advance to the general election. She received some 3,000 write-in votes, but McCloskey was sent to Congress.
Later In 1967, Henry Kissinger encountered Temple at a party, talking about Namibia. She later said Kissinger was surprised she even knew the name of the country, let alone anything about it. She and Kissinger would become close friends; he would even participate in her tribute at the Kennedy Centers Honors in 1998 (while an uncertain audience would respond timidly).
In 1969, Pres. Richard Nixon appointed her as a delegate to the 24th United Nations General Assembly.
She would serve as the US Ambassador to Ghana under the Ford administration from 1974 to 1976. Accounts of her tenure in Ghana suggest that she was well-received by the Ghanaian people, and was made an honorary chief by one community. She reportedly enjoyed being taught dances and wearing gifted clothes.
She returned to the United States in 1976, where she became the State Department’s first woman Chief of Protocol. From this position, she was tasked with arrangements for the inauguration and inaugural ball of Pres. Jimmy Carter.
For the duration of the Reagan administration, Black worked at the State Department as a foreign affairs officer-expert. In October 1987, while serving in this role, she was named an honorary member of United States Foreign Service by Secretary of State George Shultz.
It was her second ambassadorship that really set Black apart. In 1989, Black was appointed Ambassador to Czechoslovakia by Pres. George H. W. Bush. In 1968, she had been present in Czechoslovakia as a representative International Federation of Multiple Sclerosis Societies, when Soviet tanks barreled into the city to crush the Prague Spring reform movement. She spoke of seeing a woman gunned down by tanks in the streets while sheltering from the Soviets. As ambassador, she was present for the Velvet Revolution, which brought about the end of Czechoslovak communism. She was openly sympathetic to anti-communist dissidents, and oversaw the transition to formal diplomatic relationship with the elected government of President Václav Havel, and accompanied Havel on his first official visit to Washington, D.C. She would later say much of her ambassadorship had been spent trying to keep Havel out of jail.
"Shirley Temple opens doors for Shirley Temple Black," she said. Her stardom in films had not hindered her efforts at diplomacy, but had enhanced it. Many leaders she encountered were familiar with her from her films, and that became an opening for the building of relationships.
Of her ambassadorships, she said they "were the best jobs of my whole life.”
In 1998, when Black was recognized by the Kennedy Center Honors, her diplomatic work featured prominently in her tribute.
Black died at age 85 in 2014, remembered primarily as one of the last stars of the Golden Age of Hollywood, but also as a distinguished diplomat.
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An odd display for a sitting US ambassador? Perhaps. But Shirley Temple Black was no ordinary ambassador.
As Shirley Temple, she had gained international fame as a child film star of the Great Depression. Her popularity waned after puberty, and she retired from film at age 22. A longer career on television followed, but after a failed sitcom pilot failed in 1965, actress Shirley Temple became diplomat Shirley Temple Black. (After a first marriage ended in divorce, Shirley Temple married Charles Alden Black in 1950; as ambassador, she would be Shirley Temple Black.)
Ambassadorships are unique political appointments. Ambassadors are divided into main two types: career diplomats (CDs) and political appointees (PAs). CAs are members of the US Foreign Service, nonpartisan actors who carve careers in diplomacy.
PAs are a smaller bunch, and usually take one of three forms.
The most common is the "Political Thank You." These include major backers (financial or endorsement), well-liked staffers, or beloved party figures. (In the Biden administration, this group include two Kennedys, a few major Republican women, and an Olympic figure skater.)
The second is the "Soft Landing." (The most famous example here is George H.W. Bush, who was appointed to two ambassadorships in the 1970s because party leaders felt bad that he had lost multiple races.).
The rarest is the "Strategically Get Them Out of the Country." (Pres. Barack Obama did this with potential 2012 GOP contender Gov. Jon Huntsman (R-UT) in 2009, sending him to China.)
Shirley Temple Black started firmly as a PD, but was deeply respected by CDs. After losing a congressional race, she spent the rest of her career in diplomacy.
I won’t get into Black’s film career much here. She was born in 1928, and appeared in her first film in 1931. It was 1934’s “Bright Eyes,” a film catered specifically to her, that launched her international fame. By age 10, she had appeared in 29 films, many of them classics. Her career waned as she got a bit older, though, and by 1950, it seemed she and Hollywood had grown mutually tired of one another. She continued in television into the 1960s, but after a failed sitcom pilot in 1965, she ceased acting. Her final on-screen role was in a 1963 episode of “The Red Skelton Show,” when she was 35.
As a young woman, Black became involved with the Republican Party. Though regarded as a liberal bastion today, Hollywood of the 1950s and 1960s was a much more Republican place. John Wayne, Charlton Heston, Helen Hayes, Ginger Rogers, and Mary Tyler Moore all were publicly Republican, though their stances on issues varied widely. Ronald Reagan famously turned a B-movie acting career into a political career in California. Some of this conservativism was based in the McCarthyism of the early 1950s—purported communist sympathies could kill a career. Things began shifting by the late 1960s; the film “Bonnie and Clyde” (1967) shocked much of the moviegoing public and was joined by films like “Easy Rider” (1969), which reflecting changing worldviews in Hollywood and beyond. By this point, though, Shirley Temple Black was no longer acting; her politics were well-engrained and she had embarked on a new career.
In 1967, Shirley Temple Black decided to enter a special election to Congress, to represent California’s 11th district upon the death of Rep. J. Arthur Younger (R-CA). In the open primary, Black finished second in voting tallies, behind Republican law school professor Pete McCloskey. Though she had decisively defeated the highest-performing Democrat, Roy A. Archibald, earning more than double his vote tally, she did not advance to the general election. She received some 3,000 write-in votes, but McCloskey was sent to Congress.
Later In 1967, Henry Kissinger encountered Temple at a party, talking about Namibia. She later said Kissinger was surprised she even knew the name of the country, let alone anything about it. She and Kissinger would become close friends; he would even participate in her tribute at the Kennedy Centers Honors in 1998 (while an uncertain audience would respond timidly).
In 1969, Pres. Richard Nixon appointed her as a delegate to the 24th United Nations General Assembly.
She would serve as the US Ambassador to Ghana under the Ford administration from 1974 to 1976. Accounts of her tenure in Ghana suggest that she was well-received by the Ghanaian people, and was made an honorary chief by one community. She reportedly enjoyed being taught dances and wearing gifted clothes.
She returned to the United States in 1976, where she became the State Department’s first woman Chief of Protocol. From this position, she was tasked with arrangements for the inauguration and inaugural ball of Pres. Jimmy Carter.
For the duration of the Reagan administration, Black worked at the State Department as a foreign affairs officer-expert. In October 1987, while serving in this role, she was named an honorary member of United States Foreign Service by Secretary of State George Shultz.
It was her second ambassadorship that really set Black apart. In 1989, Black was appointed Ambassador to Czechoslovakia by Pres. George H. W. Bush. In 1968, she had been present in Czechoslovakia as a representative International Federation of Multiple Sclerosis Societies, when Soviet tanks barreled into the city to crush the Prague Spring reform movement. She spoke of seeing a woman gunned down by tanks in the streets while sheltering from the Soviets. As ambassador, she was present for the Velvet Revolution, which brought about the end of Czechoslovak communism. She was openly sympathetic to anti-communist dissidents, and oversaw the transition to formal diplomatic relationship with the elected government of President Václav Havel, and accompanied Havel on his first official visit to Washington, D.C. She would later say much of her ambassadorship had been spent trying to keep Havel out of jail.
"Shirley Temple opens doors for Shirley Temple Black," she said. Her stardom in films had not hindered her efforts at diplomacy, but had enhanced it. Many leaders she encountered were familiar with her from her films, and that became an opening for the building of relationships.
Of her ambassadorships, she said they "were the best jobs of my whole life.”
In 1998, when Black was recognized by the Kennedy Center Honors, her diplomatic work featured prominently in her tribute.
Black died at age 85 in 2014, remembered primarily as one of the last stars of the Golden Age of Hollywood, but also as a distinguished diplomat.
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Shirley Temple.
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Shirley isn't that bad of a name. I see it more for a girl.
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Shirley Babashoff (born 1957) is an American former swimmer.
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Shirley first became a name for females in Charlotte Bronte's book "Shirley" in which the expecting parents were sure they were having a baby boy and would name him "Shirley." When a baby girl was delivered they decide to give her the name they had chosen for the boy. The book is not an easy read but an interesting one. There are many same-name Shirley Clubs.
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I was named Shirley in 1944, and I was named after Shirley Temple. I love my name as it is quite unique in this day and age. I will agree that most people with the first name of Shirley are now in their 70's or 80's. I always thought that the meaning of the name meant: "Bright Meadow" and that it was of English origin.
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These days, I think Shirley is considered an old-fashioned name. I always thought it was a female name until I met a guy at the office who was named Shirley. I couldn't believe it--sort of like that song 'a boy named SUE'. Needless to say, he went by his middle name which I think was George. He would sign his name using his first initial and full middle name.
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Shirley is such a delicate name, but I can’t imagine this on any males! Way too feminine! When I think of the name Shirley, I picture a little girl in a pink flowery bow and a pink girly dress who likes everything to do with feminism. Though in my book, Shirley would be unisex since it historically was, I like it for a girl but not a boy! But that doesn’t mean it would disregard the history of Shirley being masculine. I also wouldn’t be against males with this name. But I still think it’s more of a feminine name than a masculine.
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Shirley was originally a male name much like Ashley, Beverly and Shannon. These names were also originally male and have long histories (many generations) of being male names. Down through the ages the trend has been that once parents start giving their daughters male names (like the more recent trend of Palmer, Ezra, Wyatt, Pierce, Sinclair) the names begin to be abandoned by parents naming male children. It takes a relatively short time (maybe 2 generations) before the names are abandoned by males and our minds become attuned to hearing these names as solely and exclusively feminine such as Marion and Leslie. Few people today hear the names Marion and Leslie and think masculine. I understand the name James is being given to girls now. In some cases of course the names just become unisex with varying spellings for boys and girls. I don't see the point myself.
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Shirley was the colt who won the 1876 Preakness Stakes.
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In the Hebrew language the name Shirley can mean two things. 1. Sing to me. 2. A song for me.
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There is also a Hebrew name Shirley (or Shir-Li: שירלי) which means my song. [noted -ed]
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Shirley Cruz Traña is a Costa Rican football player who plays for French club Paris Saint-Germain in the Division 1 Féminine. Cruz joined Lyon in January 2006 having previously played for the women's section of Costa Rican UCEM Alajuela and plays as a creative midfielder, often acting as a deep-lying playmaker. She is also a member of the Costa Rica women's national football team making her first major tournament appearance with her nation at the 2002 CONCACAF Women's Gold Cup, which served as a qualifying tournament for the 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup.
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Shirley Mallmann is a Brazilian model of German descent. She was born in Santa Clara do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul. She is considered the first Brazilian top model. Before becoming a model, she worked in a shoe factory until the age of 18. Her first modeling job was in 1995 when she appeared on the cover of Brazilian Elle magazine. She appeared in the Pirelli Calendar in June 1999 and was chosen by US TV channel E! As "Celebrity of the Year" in 1999. Her career includes runaway and advertisements for designers such as Valentino, Alexander McQueen, Oscar de la Renta, Alberta Ferretti, Marc Jacobs, Prada, Chanel 'Allure' perfume, Christian Dior, Dolce & Gabbana, Emporio Armani, Gianfranco Ferré, Guess?, Jean Paul Gaultier, Lacoste, La Perla, Roberto Cavalli, Yves Saint Laurent, Christian Lacroix, Gianni Versace, Alexandre Herchcovitch, Colcci, Miu Miu, as well as a 2001 appearance in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue and the cover of multiple issues of Vogue, Elle and Marie Claire magazines around the world.
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My Christian name is Shirley and it is the only Christain name I have. I was born in 1930 which makes me now 86. I am male and have lived contently with this name for 86 years, which included 7 years in the Royal Navy where I met no problems whatsoever. I was born before Shirley Temple was even thought of and where the name Shirley was not common but a known man's name. When I started work in 1944 there were three men in the organization with the name Shirley. Whilst in the navy the captain of my ship had a second Christain name of Shirley. This may be of interest to some people.
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The name Shirley was given to 181 girls born in the US in 2015.
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Shirley was given to 200 girls in America in 2014.
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I was reading this book about the history of Osterville, Massachusetts, and came across a boy with the first name of Shirley. Before then I never thought of the name as one for a boy. But now, I personally like it better for boys rather than girls. When I think of it as a girls name I think of an innocent girl, rather than a girl of this generation. Of course, no one would probably name their son Shirley in our generation, but I like this name much better for a boy rather than a girl. It's such a cool name for a boy in my opinion, hopefully it jumps back.
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I love the name Shirley! Awesome name. :)
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My name is Shirley, I've never liked my name because it is a name from a generation before me. Also, I feel that it is used in movies with a negative connotation (ex: Ralph and Shirley Mudd in "Annie"). Why is that? Maybe because it's old fashioned?
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Grandma's name is Shirley :) Love her and her name! Drink Shirley Temple which is what it reminds me of, named after Shirley Temple Black who I believe doesn't even like the Shirley Temple drink, lol. A person I don't like with this name is Shirley Phelps Roper from the Westboro Baptist Church though.
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My grandma's first name is Shirley and her middle name is Laverne but she was born in 1939. That's crazy huh? She's the sweetest, smartest woman ever, and so strong and beautiful.
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Shire = open meadow, hamlet, village of the countryside
Ley = ley lines, alignments of monuments or natural landscape features that have mystical or psychical energies.
1
Ley = ley lines, alignments of monuments or natural landscape features that have mystical or psychical energies.
1
A famous bearer would be Shirley Manson, the lead singer of the band Garbage. I think that this name fits her very well, but I otherwise am not really a fan.
2
2
Shirley the Loon, a character in Tiny Toon Adventures.
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The name Shirley was given to 176 baby girls born in the US in 2012. It's kind of cute for a baby, I think :)
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Shirley Povich was a reporter for The Washington Post and American television personality Maury Povich's father.
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1
Model Sara Dylan's birth name was Shirley. She changed it to Sara at the request of her first husband. She later married Bob Dylan.
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Pretty name. It's a bit of a shame that it's not very common now.
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Shirley Fenette is one of the characters from the popular mecha anime "Code Geass".
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One (in)famous bearer of this name is Shirley Phelps-Roper, the daughter of Fred Phelps. Do you really want to give your daughter the same name as a woman who pickets military funerals.
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1
'Shirley' Strahan male lead singer of the Australian rock band 'Skyhooks' now sadly deceased.
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I like this name, but I find it very badly dated. Still, at least it sounds more mature and feminine than some other -ley names, such as Hailey and Kayley.
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"Surely you can't be serious!"
"I am serious. And don't call me Shirley."
--from Airplane
3
"I am serious. And don't call me Shirley."
--from Airplane
3
This name is utterly unimaginable as a male name to me. I used to think this was sort of a cute name, but it sounds hopelessly old-fashioned and even grandmotherly to me despite being the name of Shirley Manson, the singer from Garbage. On the other hand, it sounds very child-like, and the -ey ending really does make names youthful, so this sounds like the name of a child in the 1950s or earlier. I don't really like the sound of this name anymore, as it sounds somewhat harsh with the long schwa sound. Besides, I don't really like Shirley Manson much.
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Shirley Crabtree, the English wrestler better known as 'Big Daddy', was a rare modern-day male bearer of this name.
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A famous bearer is Swedish singer Shirley Clamp.
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Shirley is the first name of a British singer Skye. Former singer of triphop band Morcheeba.
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Shirley Ardell Mason is the real name of Sybil Isabel Dorsett, the woman with the worst case of multiple personality disorder.
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This name was only ever really used in a masculine format until Charlotte Bronte's novel 'Shirley.' Before that, it was pretty much unheard of for a woman to bear this name.
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Shirley Manson is the lead singer of Garbage.
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Did you know that there are drinks called shirley temples! I guess that is a famous bearer!
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Shirley Schmidt is a lawyer on Boston Legal (played by Candice Bergen).
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I'll always associate this name with the movie Airplane:
"Surely, you can't be serious?"
"I am serious, and stop calling me Shirley."
4
"Surely, you can't be serious?"
"I am serious, and stop calling me Shirley."
4
Anne Shirley = Anne of Green Gables is a fictional famous bearer, who named one of her daughters Shirley.
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Anne Shirley of the Green Gables named her SON Shirley.
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I love this name. Well, child actress and former ambassador to (former) Czechoslovakia and an African Country (I forgot the name) is Shirley Temple.
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Dame Shirley Bassey is a Welsh-born singer, perhaps best-known for performing the theme songs to the James Bond films Goldfinger (1964), Diamonds Are Forever (1971), and Moonraker (1979).
Shirley Valentine is a play by Willy Russell, adapted into a movie starring Pauline Collins.
3
Shirley Valentine is a play by Willy Russell, adapted into a movie starring Pauline Collins.
3
"Laverne and Shirley" was the name of a sitcom in the '70's. It was a spin-off of "Happy Days."
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Due to the popularity, and high profile of the name Shirley in the 1920s and 1930s, there exist in some countries "Shirley Clubs" for women named Shirley. Most of these women incorrectly believe that they were named after Shirley Temple: the name was already very popular when Temple was born, and many of the "Shirley Club" members were born too early to have been named after Temple.
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Three other famous bearers of this name, also actresses, were Shirley Booth, Shirley MacLaine and Shirley Jones. MacLaine and Jones were named Shirley after Shirley Temple.
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