In many baby name books, Shelley is listed as meaning "From the meadow on the ledge" or "clearing on a bank" sometimes truthful and pretty. It is Old English in origin. As with many other names (Courtney, Lindsey, etc.), Shelley is today a name given almost exclusively to girls after historically being male. 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.
Notable people with the name include the following.
Adolphus Edward Shelley (1812–1854), the first Auditor-General in British Hong KongAlex Shelley (born 1983), stage name of American wrestler Patrick MartinAlexander Shelley (born 1979), English conductorArthur Shelley (fl.1905), British footballerBarbara Shelley (born 1932), English actressBert Shelley (1899–1971), English footballerBrian Shelley (born 1981), Irish footballerBurke Shelley (born 1947), British musician, member of rock group BudgieSir Bysshe Shelley, 1st Baronet (1731–1815), grandfather of Percy Bysshe ShelleyCarla Shelley, film producerCarole Shelley (born 1939), English actressCindy Shelley (born 1960), British actressDanny Shelley (born 1990), English footballerDavid Shelley (1957–2015), American blues rock musicianDeck Shelley (1906–1968), American football playerElbert Shelley (born 1964), American football playerSir Frederic Shelley, 8th Baronet (1809–1869), cleric and landownerGeorge Shelley (singer) (born 1993), English singer, member of group Union JGeorge Ernest Shelley (1840–1910), English geologist and ornithologistGeorge M. Shelley (1849–1927), Mayor of Kansas City, MissouriGerard Shelley (1891–1980), British linguist, author and translatorGladys Shelley (1911–2003), American lyricist and composerHarry Rowe Shelley (1858–1947), American composerHoward Shelley (born 1950), British pianist and conductorHugh Shelley, American baseball player of the 1930s and 1940sJack Shelley (footballer) (1905–1979), Australian footballerJames Shelley (1884–1961), New Zealand university professorJeremy Shelley (born 1990), American football placekickerJim Shelley (disambiguation), multiple peopleJody Shelley (born 1976), Canadian ice hockey playerJoe Shelley (1892–1966), Australian footballerJohn Shelley (disambiguation), multiple peopleJoshua Shelley (1920–1990), American actorKate Shelley (1863–1912), Irish-born US railroad heroineKenneth Shelley (born 1951), American figure skaterKevin Shelley (born 1955), American politicianLee Shelley (born 1956), American fencerLilian Shelley (1892–c.1933), English music hall entertainerLouise Shelley, American university professorMartha Shelley (born 1943), American writerMary Shelley (1797–1851), English writer, author of the novel FrankensteinMary Michael Shelley (born 1950), American folk artistMichael Shelley (disambiguation), multiple peopleNancy Shelley (died 2010), Australian peace activistNorman Shelley (1903–1980), English actorPaul Shelley (born 1942), English actorPaul Shelley (politician) (born 1959), Canadian politicianPercy Shelley (potter) (1860–1937), English potterPercy Bysshe Shelley (1792–1822), English poet, husband of Mary ShelleyPercy Florence Shelley (1819–1889), son of Percy Bysshe Shelley and Mary ShelleyPete Shelley (born 1955), English musician, lead singer of the BuzzcocksPeter Shelley, British 1970s pop singerRachel Shelley (born 1969), English actressRebecca Shelley (1887–1984), American pacifistRex Shelley (1930–2009), Eurasian Singaporean authorRichard Shelley (died c.1586), English Catholic under Elizabeth IRichard Shelley (Grand Prior) (c.1513–c.1589), Eglish diplomatRick Shelley (1947–2001), American science fiction writerRonald G. Shelley (1932–2003), philatelistSamuel Shelley (1750–1808), English miniaturist and water-colour painterSidney Patrick Shelley (1880–1965), relative of Percy Bysshe ShelleySteve Shelley (born 1962), American drummer, member of group Sonic YouthTimothy Shelley (1753–1844), English politician, father of Percy Bysshe ShelleyWalter Shelley, 17th-century politician, colonist of Jamestown, VirginiaWanda Shelley (born 1969), American television producerSir William Shelley (c.1480–1549), English judgeShelley baronetsShelley Chaplin, Australian wheelchair basketball playerShelley Duncan, former baseball playerShelley Duvall, American actressShelley Hennig, American actressShelley Jensen, American television director and producerShelley Long, American actressShelley Malil, Indian American actorShelley Rudman, British athleteShelley Sandie, Australian basketball playerShelley Tanaka, Canadian author and editorShelley Winters, American actressF. F. E. Yeo-Thomas, S.O.E. operative had "SHELLEY" as a code name during World War IIJames 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 nameShelley Marsh, a secondary character on the Comedy Central show South ParkShelley Unwin, a character in the British TV series Coronation StreetShelley Winters, a main character in the popular webcomic Scary Go RoundShelley (tortoise), a tortoise on Blue PeterShelley Wikipedia (Text) CC BY-SA