Explore the Family Name Shelley
The meaning of Shelley
1. English: habitational name from any of the three places called Shelley (Essex, Suffolk, Yorkshire) or from Shelley Plain in Crawley (Sussex). The placenames all derive from Old English scelf ‘rock, ledge, shelf’ + lēah ‘woodland clearing’. 2. Irish (Laois): shortened Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Sealbhaigh ‘descendant of Sealbhach’, a byname from the adjective sealbhach ‘having possessions, wealthy’.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Shelley in the United States?
Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname Shelley has seen slight changes between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, Shelley was the 2373rd most popular surname with a count of 13,995, representing 5.19 per 100,000 people in the population. By 2010, although the number of individuals with this surname rose to 14,300, the rank dropped to 2533 due to other surnames' rise in prevalence. This corresponds to a decrease in popularity by 6.74 percent and a slight drop in proportion per 100,000 at 4.85.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #2,373 | #2,533 | -6.74% |
| Count | 13,995 | 14,300 | 2.18% |
| Proportion per 100k | 5.19 | 4.85 | -6.55% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Shelley
When it comes to ethnic identity, the Decennial U.S. Census illustrates some shifts in the distribution among those with the Shelley surname from 2000 to 2010. The largest group remains those identifying as White, though this percentage decreased slightly from 87.30% to 85.02%. Notably, there were increases in the proportions of those who identified as Hispanic (from 1.29% to 2.05%), Black (from 9.00% to 9.74%), Asian/Pacific Islander (from 0.59% to 0.66%), and American Indian and Alaskan Native (from 0.60% to 0.83%). Meanwhile, those identifying with two or more races saw the most significant increase, rising from 1.23% to 1.69%.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 87.3% | 85.02% | -2.61% |
| Black | 9% | 9.74% | 8.22% |
| Hispanic | 1.29% | 2.05% | 58.91% |
| Two or More Races | 1.23% | 1.69% | 37.4% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0.6% | 0.83% | 38.33% |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 0.59% | 0.66% | 11.86% |
Shelley ancestry composition
23andMe computes an ancestry breakdown for each customer. People may have ancestry from just one population or they may have ancestry from several populations. The most commonly-observed ancestry found in people with the surname Shelley is British & Irish, which comprises 53.4% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are French & German (24.2%) and Scandinavian (4.2%). Additional ancestries include Eastern European, Ashkenazi Jewish, Spanish & Portuguese, Italian, and Indigenous American.
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| ANCESTRY BREAKDOWN | COMPOSITION |
|---|---|
| British & Irish | 53.4% |
| French & German | 24.2% |
| Scandinavian | 4.2% |
| Other | 18.3% |
Possible origins of the surname Shelley
Your DNA provides clues about where your recent ancestors may have lived. Having many distant relatives in the same location suggests that you may all share common ancestry there. Locations with many distant relatives can also be places where people have migrated recently, such as large cities. If a large number of individuals who share your surname have distant relatives in a specific area, it could indicate a connection between your surname and that location, stemming from either recent ancestral ties or migration.
Based on 23andMe data, people with last name Shelley have recent ancestry locations in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Ireland.
| RECENT ANCESTRY Location | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Greater Manchester, United Kingdom | 87.60% |
| Greater London, United Kingdom | 87.60% |
| Glasgow City, United Kingdom | 87.30% |
| West Midlands, United Kingdom | 87.30% |
| Merseyside, United Kingdom | 87.30% |
What Shelley haplogroups can tell you
Haplogroups are genetic population groups that share a common ancestor on either your paternal or maternal line. These paternal and maternal haplogroups shed light on your genetic ancestry and help tell the story of your family.
The top paternal haplogroup of people with the surname Shelley is E-V13, which is predominantly found among people with European ancestry. Haplogroup E-V13 is descended from haplogroup E-M96. Other common haplogroups include R-L48 and R-P311, which are predominantly found among people with European and European ancestry. Other surnames with similar common haplogroups are: Spencer, Groves, Hubbard, Sargent, Varner, Huffman, Howlett, Blackburn, Wolfe, Dietrich.
The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Shelley surname are: H1, T2b, H. These most commonly trace back to individuals of European ancestry.
Paternal Haplogroup Origins E-M96
Your paternal lineage may be linked to early Balkan migrants
Haplogroup E1b1b1a1b1a migrated in large numbers from the Balkans into Europe about 4,500 years ago, triggered by the beginning of the Balkan Bronze Age. During this migration, members of haplogroup E1b1b1a1b1a mainly followed rivers connecting the southern Balkans to northern-central Europe. Technological leaps often cause lineages to grow dramatically in numbers and in geographic range. The development of Bronze technology may have given men in haplogroup E1b1b1a1b1a a competitive advantage over other men, causing haplogroup E1b1b1a1b1a to proliferate and become widespread.
Your maternal lineage may be linked to Marie Antoinette
Because it is so dominant in the general European population, haplogroup H also appears quite frequently in the continent's royal houses. Marie Antoinette, an Austrian Hapsburg who married into the French royal family, inherited the haplogroup from her maternal ancestors. So did Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, whose recorded genealogy traces his female line to Bavaria. Scientists also discovered that famed 16th century astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus traced his maternal lineages to haplogroup H.
What do people with the surname Shelley have in common?
Spoiler alert: it's complicated. People with the same last name are usually no more genetically similar than a randomly sampled group of people from the same population. That said, people with the same surname are more likely to have similar ancestries than randomly sampled individuals. The reason is the tendency of people with similar cultural or geographical backgrounds to preferentially mate with one another. That's why people who share a surname may be more likely to share traits and tendencies in common than people within the general population. Check out the percentages below to see the prevalences of tastes, habits, and traits of people with your surname compared with prevalences among 23andMe users.
Preferences
Chocolate Ice Cream
Prefers chocolate flavored ice cream over other flavors.
"Shelley" Surname 38.1%
23andMe Users 41.3%
Traits
Misophonia
When sounds made by others, like the sound of chewing or yawning, provoke strong emotional reactions in an individual.
"Shelley" Surname 25.2%
23andMe Users 27.9%
Habits
Sugary Drink
Drinks one or more sugary drinks per day.
"Shelley" Surname 21.2%
23andMe Users 21.1%
Wellness
Migraine
A severe headache characterized by intense pain, sensitivity to light and sound, and often accompanied by nausea and vomiting.
"Shelley" Surname 23.9%
23andMe Users 16.4%
Are health conditions linked to the last name Shelley?
The short answer is that, if there is an association between surname and health, it's usually more about your ancestry than your name. Individuals with a given surname are no more genetically similar than the general population but often have similar ancestries. The populations of people associated with those shared ancestries often have sets of genetic variations, also known as alleles, in common. Some of those alleles are associated with a greater likelihood of developing certain diseases.
Disease variant frequency by ancestry
Disease allele frequencies in populations associated with the surname Shelley are shown below. Important Note: not everyone with a disease allele will develop these health condition