Ashley

Ashley: name meaning, origin & popularity

Meaning
“ash tree clearing”
Origin
Old English
Say it
ASH-lee · 2 syllables
Used for
Girls (98% of all uses)

From an English surname derived from a place name combining ash tree and woodland clearing. It later became a given name for both sexes.

How popular is Ashley?

2024679 per million US babies
1880192019602000
Drag the line or the slider to read any year. Values are per million US births recorded by Social Security. Records before about 1937 undercount births, so early peaks can look taller than they were.

Babies named Ashley in 20242,259

2024 rank#124 girls

Peak year1987

Total US babies since 1880873,844

Ashley is fading: recent use is about 45% of its level ten years before.

Names like Ashley

Variants, related forms and names with the same roots.

  • Ashlyash tree clearing · Old English
  • Ashleeash tree meadow · English
  • Ashleighash tree meadow · English
  • Ashlieash tree clearing · English
  • Ashelyash tree clearing · Old English
  • Ashliash tree meadow · English
  • Audreynoble strength · Old English
  • Oakleyoak clearing · Old English

Ashley questions

What does the name Ashley mean?

Ashley means "ash tree clearing". It comes from Old English. From an English surname derived from a place name combining ash tree and woodland clearing. It later became a given name for both sexes.

Is Ashley a boy or girl name?

Ashley is mainly a girl's name in US records (98% of uses since 1880).

How popular is Ashley?

2,259 US babies were named Ashley in 2024. Its peak year was 1987.

How do you pronounce Ashley?

Ashley is usually pronounced ASH-lee.

Birth counts: US Social Security Administration national data, 1880–2024 (names given to 5+ babies of a sex in a year). How we write meanings.