In many baby name books, Shelley is listed as meaning 'meadow's edge' or 'clearing on a bank'.
), 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.
It is featured in tile on the ceiling of the Library of Congress in Washington D.C.[clarification needed] Notable people with the name include: