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Home β€Ί Baby Names Directory β€Ί Ashley

Ashley

♀ Girl

Pronounced ASH-lee /ΛˆΓ¦Κƒ.li/High

Meaning: Ash tree meadow; clearing of ash trees β€” from Old English aesc (ash tree) + leah (woodland clearing)High

In 30 seconds: An Old English place name meaning 'ash tree meadow,' Ashley crossed from a surname to a given name and then shifted from boys to girls β€” becoming one of the most popular American girls' names of the 1980s and 1990s.
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Origin HighOld English
MeaningAsh tree meadow; clearing of ash trees β€” from Old English aesc (ash tree) + leah (woodland clearing)
U.S. rank (2025)#164 β†˜ Falling
2025 U.S. births1,829 girls (0.11% of U.S. girls)
Peak year1987
Total births (all-time)β‰ˆ 859,836

Popularity in the U.S. Β· SSA data

peak 198719172025

U.S. births per year (Social Security Administration, 1880–present). Pink marker = peak year.

SSA data updated May 2026. How we source & verify this data.

History & Origin

Ashley derives from the Old English aesc (ash tree) and leah (woodland clearing or meadow). It was an English place name and surname before becoming a given name.

Ashley became hugely popular as a girls' name in the United States in the 1980s after the character Ashley Abbott appeared on the TV series The Young and the Restless. It was a top-3 girls' name from the mid-1980s through the mid-1990s.

Did you know? Ashley Wilkes, the genteel Southern gentleman in Margaret Mitchell's Gone with the Wind (1936), was male β€” a reminder that the name was originally masculine before crossing over.

Variations

AshleeAshleighAshleey

Nicknames

Ash

Famous Bearers

  • β˜…Ashley Judd (1968-)
    American actress and activist
  • β˜…Ashley Olsen (1986-)
    American actress and fashion designer
  • β˜…Ashley Cole (1980-)
    English footballer who played for Arsenal and Chelsea
  • β˜…Ashley Tisdale (1985-)
    American actress and singer from High School Musical
  • β˜…Ashley Graham (1987-)
    American model and body-positivity advocate
  • β˜…Ashley Benson (1989-)
    American actress from Pretty Little Liars

If you like Ashley…

Kimberlyβ€” Old English place-surname name with the same 1980s top-10 American peak
Haileyβ€” Old English -ley surname name with the same surname-to-girls'-name arc
Hadleyβ€” lands in the same popularity range
Wrenleyβ€” echoes that soft -ey sound
Baileyβ€” shares the -ey ending

Explore names like Ashley

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Frequently Asked

What does the name Ashley mean?

Ashley comes from Old English, meaning 'ash tree meadow,' from aesc (ash tree) and leah (woodland clearing).

How do you pronounce Ashley?

It is said ASH-lee /ΛˆΓ¦Κƒ.li/ β€” two syllables, stress on the first.

Is Ashley a boy or girl name?

Ashley is now used predominantly as a girl's name, though it was historically a boys' name.

How popular is Ashley?

Ashley was one of the most popular U.S. girls' names in the 1980s and 1990s, ranking in the top 5 for over a decade, and remains in the top 200 today.

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