The Shelly surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 5,134 people carried this name — #6,598 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 57,500 people counted. That is down 5% from 5,422 in 2000.

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Where the name comes from

The origin of the Shelly surname

A surname from Old English, variant of Shelley.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Shelly» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890

Ireland registered 17 births for the Shelly name in 1890.

They were registered in all four provinces, most of all in Leinster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 800 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. One of them was indexed under another spelling of the name. The Registrar-General’s note on the name: “Dublin and Tipperary.”

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born, 1890

Leinster 9
Munster 5
Connacht 2
Ulster 1

Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

89 families named Shelly, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 481 people lived in those households, 5.4 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 9 other spellings. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

Pennsylvania 35
New York 13
Connecticut 11
South Carolina 9
Massachusetts 6
Virginia 5
North Carolina 5
Maryland 4
New Hampshire 1

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 261 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Shelly in American newspapers,
1885–1901.

Newspaper page from Bill Barlow's Budget carrying the name Shelly
Bill Barlow's Budget 1901-09-25
Newspaper page from The Wahpeton Times carrying the name Shelly
The Wahpeton Times 1885-01-01
Newspaper page from Walker Lake Bulletin carrying the name Shelly
Walker Lake Bulletin 1901-09-11

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 4,009 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Shelly in Australian newspapers,
1800s–2000s.

6,088 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Shelly. The most, 947, date from the 1900s. New South Wales has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in Victoria, at 1.4 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 2,820
Victoria 1,763
Queensland 810
Western Australia 283
South Australia 207
Tasmania 182
ACT (Canberra) 14
Northern Territory 5

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Shelly.

Who carried it

People named Shelly,
with a public archive behind them.

  • William Curtis Shelly
    William Curtis Shelly 1878–1951 · politician
  • Mary Josephine Shelly
    Mary Josephine Shelly 1902–1976 · military personnel
  • Richard Rashleigh Shelly d. 1971
  • Ricardo Shelly Commenford 1811–1855 · military personnel
  • Hugh Shelly 1882–1957 · hurler
  • Mary Finola FitzGerald 1919–1977

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Shelly,
in the records of 5 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States775 records

775 records of the Shelly name in the United States
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 226
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 222
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 169
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 59
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 45
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 27
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 26
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 1
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record John H. Shelly

    Born 1915; from Jackson County, Missouri. U.S. Army, tank leader; killed in action 1953 in North Korea. Buried at Fayetteville National Cemetery, Arkansas.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Bridget Shelly

    Arrived at New York in 1892 aboard the Teutonic from Liverpool, aged 15; servant. From Castlecomber, Ireland; bound for Brooklyn.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Frank J. Shelly

    Born 1899 in New York. Enlisted 1942 at Kalamazoo, Michigan; purchasing agent from Kent County, Michigan.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain)

Showing 3 of 775 records for Shelly in the United States.

Counts: NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain).

Australia197 records

197 records of the Shelly name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 111
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 36
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 21
  • Tasmanian Names Index 15
  • NSW convict, estate and railway indexes 14
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Harry Shelly

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the Hercules, arriving 1825.

    Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record James Shelly

    Arrived in Victoria in 1855 aboard the Shalimar, aged 21; Irish.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Matthew James Shelly

    Printer of Brighton, Victoria; died 1980.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 197 records for Shelly in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

Canada32 records

32 records of the Shelly name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 21
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 6
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 1
  • City of Niagara Falls (Ontario) cemetery records 1
  • Ontario immigration records, 1865–1883 1
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 1
  • City of Waterloo (Ontario) cemetery records 1
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Benjamin Shelly

    Came to Ontario in 1874 aboard the Italy, bound for London, Ontario; English.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
  2. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Paul William Shelly

    Buried in 1986 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 31.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Edward Shelly

    Died 1897 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.

Showing 3 of 32 records for Shelly in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · Contains information provided by the City of Waterloo under licence. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

United Kingdom6 records

6 records of the Shelly name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 5
  • St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 1
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Hannah Shelly

    Buried in 1804 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 19.

    MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record W. Shelly

    Royal Welsh Fusiliers. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1919.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  3. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record A. Shelly

    Gunner, Royal Field Artillery. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1917.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Showing 3 of 6 records for Shelly in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

France1 record

1 record of the Shelly name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Mathilde Shelly

    Born 1912 in Tunisia; died 1997 in Créteil (Val-de-Marne).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Shelly.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Shelly is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

See the Shelly volume
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