Shelley
Shelley is a female given name: 97% of people named Shelley are women, and it is recorded as female in 1 of the 2 countries covered.
- Verdict
- Female
- Male / female split
- 3% male / 97% female
- Confidence
- High (64 or more weighted country observations)
- Most common in
- United States, Great Britain
- US births since 1880
- 1,752 male / 72,494 female
- Data
- nam_dict (GFDL) + US SSA
- Updated
- 2026-09-11
How to address Shelley
When you do not know their gender for certain, the full name with no title is the safe choice: "Dear Shelley," in English, "Guten Tag Shelley," in German. Shelley is a female given name: about 97% of people named Shelley are women. A quick look at a profile confirms it for certain.
Ready-made greetings in six languages
English
Dear Shelley,
German
Guten Tag Shelley,
French
Bonjour Shelley,
Spanish
Estimado/a Shelley:
Chinese
Shelley您好：
Japanese
Shelley様
English
Hi Shelley,
German
Hi Shelley,
French
Salut Shelley,
Spanish
Hola Shelley,
Chinese
Shelley你好：
Japanese
Shelleyさん
This is a statistical estimate, not a statement about the gender, identity or correct form of address of any particular person.
Country breakdown
| Country | How common | Usually | Male share |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | very common | woman's name | 2% |
| Great Britain | rare | woman's name | 25% |
United States birth data
1,752 male · 72,494 female · 74,246 births recorded
Since 1980: 1% male.
Frequently asked questions
Is Shelley a male or female name?
Shelley is a female given name: 97% of people named Shelley are women, and it is recorded as female in 1 of the 2 countries covered.
How do I address Shelley in an email?
When you do not know their gender for certain, the full name with no title is the safe choice: "Dear Shelley," in English, "Guten Tag Shelley," in German. Shelley is a female given name: about 97% of people named Shelley are women. A quick look at a profile confirms it for certain.
Is Shelley a unisex name?
Shelley is not a unisex name: 3% of people named Shelley are men. Shelley leans strongly female overall.
Related names
Sources
Gender by country: nam_dict, the c't first-names dictionary by Joerg Michael, roughly 44,000 names across 55 countries, licensed GFDL. US frequencies: United States Social Security Administration baby-name data, public domain. Method: how we classify names. Full dataset: data & licences. Data built 2026-09-11.
DearWho, "Is Shelley a male or female name?", https://dearwho.vercel.app/name/shelley (accessed 2026-09-11). Data: nam_dict (J. Michael, GFDL) and US SSA, built 2026-09-11.
BibTeX
@misc{dearwho_shelley,
title = {Is Shelley a male or female name?},
author = {{DearWho}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://dearwho.vercel.app/name/shelley},
note = {Data: nam_dict (GFDL), US SSA public domain}
}