From a surname which was originally derived from a place name meaning "clearing on a bank" in Old English. Two famous bearers of the surname were Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822), a romantic poet whose works include 'Adonais' and 'Ozymandias', and Mary Shelley (1797-1851), his wife, the author of the horror story 'Frankenstein'. As a feminine given name, it came into general use after the 1940s.
Usage: English
Famous People: Mary Shelleywiki (Writer, 1797, United Kingdom), Percy Bysshe Shelleywiki (Writer, 1792, United Kingdom), Shelley Winterswiki (Actor, 1920, United States)