Small Heath is a grey, soot-covered maze where blood is thicker than the sludge in the Cut. If you’ve spent any time watching Tommy Shelby stare into the middle distance while smoking a herbal cigarette, you know the Shelbys aren't just a gang. They’re a dynasty. But honestly, keeping track of the Peaky Blinders family tree is a nightmare because Steven Knight loves a surprise sibling or a long-lost son.
It’s messy. It’s violent.
Most people think it starts and ends with the brothers, but the roots go way deeper into Romani heritage and illegitimate children that change the entire power dynamic of the show. If you're trying to figure out who is actually related to whom before the upcoming movie drops, you've gotta look past the waistcoats and the flat caps.
The First Generation: Where the Shelby Blood Comes From
The foundation of the Peaky Blinders family tree isn't actually in Birmingham; it’s on the road. We don't see much of the "Old Generation," but their influence is basically the ghost that haunts Tommy’s every move.
Arthur Shelby Sr. was a wanderer and a con man. He was the kind of father who’d buy you a drink with the money he just stole from your pocket. When he showed up in Season 1, he nearly broke Arthur Jr. His wife, the mother of the main Shelby siblings, is a more tragic figure. She died by suicide—walking into the canal—which is a detail that explains why the Shelby boys are so profoundly broken. She was a strong woman from a Romani background, specifically the Boswell and Lee clans. This is huge. It’s why Tommy can speak Shelta and why he trusts "the sights" more than he trusts the law.
Then there’s Aunt Polly. Elizabeth "Polly" Gray (née Shelby) is the true matriarch. She’s Arthur Sr.’s sister. Without Polly, the business would have folded in 1914 while the boys were off in the trenches of France. She is the bridge between the old Gypsy ways and the new corporate "Shelby Company Ltd" world.
The Core Five: The Siblings We Know
The main branch of the Peaky Blinders family tree consists of the five siblings: Arthur, Thomas, John, Ada, and Finn.
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Arthur is the eldest. He’s the muscle, the rage, and the broken heart of the family. He’s the one who carries the Shelby name with the most weight, even if he doesn't have the brains to lead it. Tommy is the second son, the middle child who took the throne. Then you have John, who was the heart of the gang until those Italians showed up at his front door in Season 4.
Ada is the only girl. She’s the one who tried to escape. She changed her name to Thorne after marrying the communist Freddie Thorne, but the Shelby blood is like a magnet. It always pulls her back. Finally, there’s Finn. He’s the "baby" who grew up in the shadow of the war he never fought in. By the end of the series, his place in the tree is... let’s just say "complicated" after the fallout at the betting shop.
The Gray Branch: Polly’s Lost Children
For years, Polly lived with a hole in her heart. The authorities took her children, Anna and Michael, because of a "morality" issue. Anna died in Australia—or so the records say—but Michael Gray returned.
Michael is a fascinating addition to the Peaky Blinders family tree. He represents the internal rot. He brought in Gina Gray, an American with ambitions that didn't align with Small Heath’s traditions. When Michael and Gina had their son, Laurence, it created a rival branch of the tree. Suddenly, it wasn't just about the Shelbys; it was about the Grays vs. the Shelbys. That tension defined the final seasons, leading to that cold standoff in Miquelon Island.
Michael thought he was the future. Tommy knew he was a threat. In the end, blood didn't save Michael.
The New Growth: Tommy’s Children and the Duke Factor
Tommy Shelby’s personal life is a graveyard.
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First, there was Grace Burgess. Their marriage was supposed to be his redemption. They had a son, Charles (Charlie) Shelby. Charlie is the heir apparent, but he’s a sensitive kid. He sees his father for what he is. After Grace was murdered, Tommy eventually married Lizzie Stark, a former sex worker who became the backbone of the Shelby household.
Lizzie and Tommy had a daughter, Ruby. Her death in Season 6 from tuberculosis was the catalyst for Tommy’s total mental collapse. It felt like the end of the line.
But then, the Peaky Blinders family tree sprouted a wild, unexpected limb: Erasmus "Duke" Shelby.
Duke is Tommy's first-born son, conceived under a hazel tree with a girl named Zelda before Tommy went to war. Duke is the "Gipsy" Tommy used to be. He’s got the temperament, the eyes, and the lack of a conscience when it comes to the family's enemies. He represents the "dark" side of the business, while Charlie represents the "light" (or at least the legitimate) side.
The In-Laws and the Extended Web
You can't talk about this family without the people they brought into the fold through marriage or necessity.
- Esme Shelby: A Lee. Her marriage to John was a peace treaty between two warring factions. When John died, she took her children and went back to the road, cursed the Shelbys, and honestly? She was the smartest one of the bunch.
- Linda Shelby: Arthur’s wife. She tried to use God to tame a man who only understood violence. It didn't work. She’s still out there, though, forever tied to Arthur’s chaos.
- Freddie Thorne: Ada’s husband and Tommy’s former best friend. His death (from illness, off-screen) left their son, Karl Thorne, as a mixed-ideology heir—part Shelby, part Thorne, part Jewish (on his father's side).
Why the Lineage is Falling Apart
The problem with the Peaky Blinders family tree is that it's being pruned by its own members. By the time we reach the end of the TV series, the unity is gone.
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Finn Shelby has been officially kicked out of the family. "By order of the Peaky Blinders," he's no longer a Shelby. He’s been erased from the branch because he chose his friends over his blood. That leaves a massive vacuum.
On the other side, you have the tension between the "legitimate" world and the "street" world. Tommy wants the Shelby name to be in the House of Lords. He wants it to be respected. But with Duke coming into the fold and Arthur still struggling with his demons, the tree is leaning heavily back toward the dirt.
What Most People Get Wrong About the Shelby Names
A lot of fans get confused about the surnames. While the main family is Shelby, the Romani side often uses different monikers or goes by clan names. Polly used Gray because it was her husband's name, but she was born a Shelby.
Also, keep an eye on the kids. There are more Shelby cousins than the show has time to name. We see them in the background of the weddings and the funerals—young men in peaked caps who are ready to die for a name they barely understand.
Actionable Steps for Tracking the Shelby History
If you're looking to truly master the lore of the Peaky Blinders family tree before the story concludes, here is how you should approach it:
- Watch the "Gold" scenes: Pay attention to every time Tommy visits the Gypsy camps in Season 6. These scenes explain Duke’s lineage and how the Lee family still holds power over the Shelbys' spiritual life.
- Track the "Legitimacy" Timeline: Look at when the children were born. Charlie was born when Tommy was trying to go straight. Duke was born when Tommy was a "wild" boy. This contrast tells you everything about who will take over the business.
- Follow the Matriarchy: Don't just look at the men. The women—Polly, Ada, Esme—are the ones who actually manage the family connections. When the women leave or die, the tree starts to wither.
- Map the "Traitor" list: Identify who has been cast out. Finn and Michael are the big ones. In the Shelby world, being removed from the tree is a death sentence, whether literal or social.
The Shelby family isn't just a list of names on a page. It's a living, breathing, bleeding entity that has survived the Great War, the Great Depression, and the rise of fascism. Whether the name survives the next decade depends entirely on whether Duke and Charlie can exist in the same world without killing each other.