How Many People Are Named Shirlene?
An estimated 2,931 people in the United States have the first name Shirlene. It is almost exclusively a female name. The average bearer is 67 years old, and Shirlene peaked in popularity in 1956 with 159 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Shirlene as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Shirlene paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- With an average bearer age of 67, Shirlene is a vintage name most associated with earlier generations. Most living bearers were born before 1969.
Estimated Living Americans
2,931
About 1 in 116,941 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Rare
Predicted Gender
Female
100.0% confidence
Average Age
67
years old
Peak Year
1956
159 births
Total Registered
4,856
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Shirlene
Shirlene is almost exclusively a female name. Out of 4,856 total births registered, 100.0% were female.
Shirlene as a female name
Ranked #19,431 in 2010
5 female births in 2010
Peak: 1956 (159 births)
Shirlene: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Shirlene span from the 1920s to the 2010s, covering 10 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1950s, when 1,356 babies were registered. Shirlene has declined significantly from its peak in the 1950s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Shirlene by Decade
How has Shirlene tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
Shirlene by State
Birth registrations for Shirlene span all 30 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in Texas, California, North Carolina. The lowest are in New Jersey, Kansas, Indiana. On average, about 77 Shirlenes were registered per state.
Shirlene + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Shirlene as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Shirlene
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
Shirlene: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shirlene?
We estimate approximately 2,931 people named Shirlene are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 116,941 Americans share this first name.
Is Shirlene a common name?
Shirlene is classified as "Rare" and is more popular than 95.1% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 4,856 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Shirlene most popular?
Shirlene reached peak popularity in 1956, when 159 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Shirlene is approximately 67 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Shirlene a female name?
Shirlene is predominantly female. 100.0% of people with this name are female. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Shirlene Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Shirlene Smith, Shirlene Johnson, Shirlene Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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