Ashley
Ashley is a given name which was originally an Old English surname. It is derived from the Old English (Anglo-Saxon) words æsċ (ash) and lēah and translates to "Dweller near the ash tree meadow".
Meaning & Origin of Ashley
What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.
Ashley is a given name which was originally an Old English surname. It is derived from the Old English (Anglo-Saxon) words æsċ (ash) and lēah and translates to "Dweller near the ash tree meadow".
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →
The Story of Ashley
Ashley first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a baby girl name in 1917, with 5 babies given the name that year. Its peak popularity came in 1987, when 54,853 Ashleys were born — ranking #2 that year. As of 2026, Ashley ranks #116 for baby girls with 2,332 births, gradually rising (+5%). In total, more than 863K Ashleys have been born in the U.S. since records began in 1880, spanning the 1910s through the 2020s.
Popularity Over Time
Popularity by State
Names that sound like Ashley
Phonetically similar names — useful when Ashley is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.
Frequently Asked Questions about Ashley
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About the name Ashley
Ashley is a girl baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1917 and has accumulated 863K births in the dataset. Ashley's peak popularity came in 1987 when it ranked #1. Use the chart and map above to compare Ashley's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.
Continue exploring
- Top names of 1987 →
- Names of the 1980s →
- Names starting with "A" →
- Browse all girl names →
- Top names of 2026 →
Data sources
- Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
- Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
- Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
- Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
- Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .
Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.