Shirley

Shirley is an English surname-turned-given name derived from an Old English place name meaning bright woodland clearing, from the elements scir (bright or shire) and leah (woodland clearing or meadow). It was first widely popularized as a feminine given name in the nineteenth century, largely through Charlotte Brontë's 1849 novel Shirley, where it was given to a female protagonist — an unusual choice at the time, since the name had previously been masculine. The child actress Shirley Temple, enormously famous in the 1930s, cemented its popularity as a girl's name throughout the English-speaking world. Sherley and Sherri are among the variant spellings associated with the name.