FastNamesAshley
English name meaning "Derived from Old English æsc ('ash tree') and lēah ('meadow', 'clearing', or 'woodland pasture'), signifying 'clearing in the ash trees'.". Ranked 164th for girls in 2025.
Meaning and origin of Ashley
Derived from Old English æsc ('ash tree') and lēah ('meadow', 'clearing', or 'woodland pasture'), signifying 'clearing in the ash trees'.
Linguistically, Ashley is classified under English naming traditions. It is typically pronounced "ASH-lee".
Popularity and ranking
In official US Social Security birth records from 1880 through 2025, Ashley has been given to a total of 859,857 girls. It has also been given to 15,865 boys.
Peak year: Ashley reached its highest relative share among girls in 1987, when 54,856 babies received the name (31,551 per million births).
All-time best rank: 1st place, first achieved in 1991.
Recent standing (2025): Ranked 164th with 1,829 births. Ten years earlier in 2015, it ranked 86th (down 78 spots).
Busiest decade: More girls were named Ashley in the 1980s than in any other decade (352,185 births).
| Decade | Recorded births |
|---|---|
| 1910s | 5 |
| 1920s | 0 |
| 1930s | 7 |
| 1940s | 86 |
| 1950s | 221 |
| 1960s | 2,566 |
| 1970s | 21,053 |
| 1980s | 352,185 |
| 1990s | 301,820 |
| 2000s | 133,051 |
| 2010s | 37,237 |
| 2020s | 11,626 |
Source: Social Security Administration, national baby name data, data through 2025. Names given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a year aren't published, so totals are a little lower than actual births.
Where Ashley is most common in the US
Accounting for when Ashley was in fashion nationally, it has been most heavily concentrated in the following states (measured against the expected rate from each state's births):
- South Carolina: 1.3 times the national rate (13,533 births since 1910).
- Arkansas: 1.3 times the national rate (9,141 births since 1910).
- Wyoming: 1.3 times the national rate (1,387 births since 1910).
- West Virginia: 1.3 times the national rate (6,402 births since 1910).
- Delaware: 1.3 times the national rate (2,408 births since 1910).
Source: Social Security Administration, baby names by state, data through 2025. Names given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a state in a year aren't published, so totals are a little lower than actual births.
How many people have the name Ashley?
About 842,000 living American girls and women share the name Ashley. Additionally, an estimated 13,000 living American boys and men share the name.
The median age of an American named Ashley is 35 years old.
Estimated from Social Security Administration records (1880–2025) and official SSA cohort mortality tables.
History of the name Ashley
Ashley originated as an Old English habitational surname and topographic name derived from æsc ('ash tree') and lēah ('wood', 'glade', or 'clearing'). Several localities across England bore the name, particularly in Cheshire, Staffordshire, Wiltshire, and Hampshire, referring to ancient settlements situated near stands of ash timber, a wood prized for toolmaking and shipbuilding.
For centuries, Ashley served as an aristocratic English surname and masculine given name, notably borne by Anthony Ashley Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury (1621–1683), a founding proprietor of the Carolina colony. It entered American popular consciousness as a southern masculine name, famously represented by Ashley Wilkes in Margaret Mitchell's 1936 novel Gone with the Wind.
The name transitioned dramatically to a predominantly feminine given name in the United States in the 1960s and 1970s. Boosted by soap opera television characters and celebrity culture, Ashley climbed exponentially, becoming the single most popular girls' name in the nation in 1991 and 1992, and spending over two decades in the national top ten.
Notable people named Ashley
- Ashley Judd (1968–), American actress and political activist
- Ashley Tisdale (1985–), American actress and singer
- Ashley Graham (1987–), American model and television presenter
- Ashley Young (1985–), English professional footballer
Variants and related names
Spelling variants
Diminutives and nicknames
Related names
Sources and references
- Patrick Hanks, Kate Hardcastle, Flavia Hodges. A Dictionary of First Names (2006), p. 22.
- P. H. Reaney, R. M. Wilson. A Dictionary of English Surnames (1997), p. 15.
- Douglas Harper. Online Etymology Dictionary. Reference link.