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
  • Troy Shelley, American politician
  • 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, Stan Marsh's older sister on 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