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Shelley is a given name and surname. In many baby name books, Shelley is listed as meaning 'meadow's edge' or 'clearing on a bank'. It is Old English in origin. As with many other names (Courtney, Ashley, etc.), Shelley is today a name given almost exclusively to girls after historically being male. It is commonly used as a nickname for Michelle (and formerly as a variant of Shirley). Shelley is also a transferred surname used by those in Essex, Suffolk and Yorkshire, particularly in settlements where a wood/clearing was beside a ledge or hillside. Shelly is a common alternative spelling. It is featured in tile on the ceiling of the Library of Congress in Washington D.C.

Notable people with the name include:

Surname

• Adolphus Edward Shelley (1812–1854), the first Auditor-General in British Hong Kong
• Alex Shelley (born 1983), stage name of American wrestler Patrick Martin
• Alexander Shelley (born 1979), English conductor
• Arthur Shelley (fl.1905), British footballer
• Barbara Shelley (1932–2021), English actress
• Bert Shelley (1899–1971), English footballer
• Brian Shelley (born 1981), Irish footballer
• Burke Shelley (1950-2022), Welsh musician, member of rock group Budgie
• Sir Bysshe Shelley, 1st Baronet (1731–1815), grandfather of Percy Bysshe Shelley
• Carla Shelley (born 1965), film producer
• Carole Shelley (1939–2018), English actress
• Cindy Shelley (born 1960), British actress
• Danny Shelley (born 1990), English footballer
• David Shelley (1957–2015), American blues rock musician
• David Shelley (publisher) (born 1976), British book publisher
• Deck Shelley (1906–1968), American football player
• Duke Shelley (born 1996), American football player
• Elbert Shelley (born 1964), American football player
• Sir Frederic Shelley, 8th Baronet (1809–1869), cleric and landowner
• George Shelley (singer) (born 1993), English singer, member of group Union J
• George Ernest Shelley (1840–1910), English geologist and ornithologist
• George M. Shelley (1849–1927), Mayor of Kansas City, Missouri
• Gerard Shelley (1891–1980), British linguist, author and translator
• Gladys Shelley (1911–2003), American lyricist and composer
• Harry Rowe Shelley (1858–1947), American composer
• Howard Shelley (born 1950), British pianist and conductor
• Hugh Shelley (1910–1978), American baseball player of the 1930s and 1940s
• Jack Shelley (footballer) (1905–1979), Australian footballer
• James Shelley (1884–1961), New Zealand university professor
• Jaz Shelley (born 2000), Australian basketball player
• Jeremy Shelley (born 1990), American football placekicker
• Jim Shelley (disambiguation), multiple people
• Jody Shelley (born 1976), Canadian ice hockey player
• Joe Shelley (1892–1966), Australian footballer
• John Shelley (disambiguation), multiple people
• Joshua Shelley (1920–1990), American actor
• Kate Shelley (1863–1912), Irish-born US railroad heroine
• Kenneth Shelley (born 1951), American figure skater
• Kevin Shelley (born 1955), American politician
• Lee Shelley (born 1956), American fencer
• Lilian Shelley (1892–c.1933), English music hall entertainer
• Louise Shelley (born 1952), American university professor
• Martha Shelley (born 1943), American writer
• Mary Shelley (1797–1851), English writer, author of the novel Frankenstein
• Mary Michael Shelley (born 1950), American folk artist
• Michael Shelley (disambiguation), multiple people
• Nancy Shelley (died 2010), Australian peace activist
• Norman Shelley (1903–1980), English actor
• Paul Shelley (born 1942), English actor
• Paul Shelley (politician) (born 1959), Canadian politician
• Percy Shelley (potter) (1860–1937), English potter
• Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792–1822), English poet, husband of Mary Shelley
• Sir Percy Shelley, 3rd Baronet (1819–1889), son of Percy Bysshe Shelley and Mary Shelley
• Pete Shelley (1955–2018), English musician, lead singer of Buzzcocks
• Peter Shelley (1943–2023), British 1970s pop singer
• Rachel Shelley (born 1969), English actress
• Rebecca Shelley (1887–1984), American pacifist
• Rex Shelley (1930–2009), Eurasian Singaporean author
• Richard Shelley (died c.1586), English Catholic under Elizabeth I
• Richard Shelley (grand prior) (c.1513–c.1589), English diplomat
• Rick Shelley (1947–2001), American science fiction writer
• Ronald G. Shelley (1932–2003), philatelist
• Samuel Shelley (1750–1808), English miniaturist and water-colour painter
• Sir Sidney Shelley, 8th Baronet (1880–1965), relative of Percy Bysshe Shelley
• Steve Shelley (born 1962), American drummer, member of group Sonic Youth
• Timothy Shelley (1753–1844), English politician, father of Percy Bysshe Shelley
• Walter Shelley, 17th-century politician, colonist of Jamestown, Virginia
• Wanda Shelley (born 1969), American television producer
• Sir William Shelley (c.1480–1549), English judge
• Shelley baronets

Given name

Women

• Shelley Ackerman (1953–2020), American astrologer, writer, actress, and singer
• Shelley Andrews (born 1953), Canadian field hockey player
• Shelley Anna, American chemical engineer
• Shelley Archer (born 1958), Australian politician
• Shelley Beattie (1967–2008), American professional female bodybuilder and actress
• Shelley Bennett, American actress, producer, and artist
• Shelley Berger, American professor
• Rochelle Shelley Berkley (born 1951), American businesswoman, politician, and attorney
• Shelley Blond (born 1970), English actress
• Shelley-Ann Brown (born 1980), Canadian bobsledder
• Shelley Chaplin (born 1984), Australian wheelchair basketball player
• Shelley Duvall (1949–2024), American actress
• Michele Shelley Fabares (born 1944), American singer and actress
• Michelle Shelley Fruin (born 1961), New Zealand cricketer
• Michelle Shelley Funke Frommeyer (born 1969), American politician
• Shelley Griffiths, New Zealand academic
• Shelley Hack (born 1947), American model and actress
• Michelle Shelley Hadfield, New Zealand paralympian
• Shelley Hennig (born 1987), American actress
• Shelley Jackson (born 1963), American writer and artist
• Michelle Shelley Kerr (born 1969), Scottish football manager
• Shelley Long (born 1949), American actress
• Shelley Parker-Chan, Australian fantasy novelist
• Shelley Ross, American television executive producer
• Shelley Rudman (born 1981), British athlete
• Shelley Rudnicki, American politician
• Shelley Sandie (born 1969), Australian basketball player
• Rachelle Shelley Shannon (born 1956), American anti-abortion extremist
• Shelley Smith (disambiguation), multiple people
• Rochelle Shelley Solomon (1963–2014), American professional tennis player
• Shelley Steiner (born 1961), Canadian Olympic fencer
• Shelley Tanaka, Canadian author and editor
• Shelley Tepperman, Canadian translator
• Rochelle Shelley Vana (born 1951), American politician
• Shelley Vance, American politician
• Michelle Shelley Williams-Walker, British politician
• Shelley Winters (1920–2006), American actress

Men

• Shelley Appleton (1919–2005), American trade union executive and attorney
• Sheldon Shelley Berman (1925–2017), American comedian and actor
• Shelley Duncan (born 1979), American professional baseball player
• Shelley Hull (1884–1919), American actor
• Shelley Jensen, American television director and producer
• Shelley Malil (born 1984), Indian-American actor
• Shelley Mayfield (1924–2010), American golf course architect and professional golfer
• Shelley Massenburg-Smith (born 1988), American rapper, singer, and record producer
• I. Sheldon Shelley Posen, Canadian folklorist, singer, and songwriter
• Shelley Scarlett, 5th Baron Abinger (1872–1917), British peer and military officer
• Shelley Smith (disambiguation), multiple people
• Shelton Shelley Wickramasinghe (1926–2011), Sri Lankan cricketer

Code name

• F. F. E. Yeo-Thomas, S.O.E. operative who had "SHELLEY" as a code name during World War II

Fictional characters

• James Shelley, the title character of Shelley (TV series)
• Shelley Levene, a main character in the stage play Glengarry Glen Ross, and the 1992 film of the same name
• Shelley Marsh, a secondary character on the Comedy Central show South Park
• Shelley Simon, One Tree Hill character
• Shelley Unwin, a character in the British TV series Coronation Street
• Shelley Winters, a main character in the popular webcomic Scary Go Round
• Shelly Johnson, one of the main characters in Twin Peaks
• Nathan Shelley, a main character in the Apple TV series Ted Lasso

Animals

• Shelley (tortoise), a tortoise on Blue Peter

See also

• Shelly (disambiguation)
• Michelle (name)
• Shirley (name)

Notes

1. Hanks, Patrick; Hodges, Flavia (1988). A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford University Press. p. 488. ISBN 0-19-211592-8. Retrieved 19 November 2024 – via Internet Archive.

• Given names
• Surnames
• English feminine given names
• Feminine given names
• English unisex given names