Ashley
An English place-name surname built from Old English aesc, meaning ash tree, and leah, a woodland clearing or meadow.
Ashley in 2025
Ashley was given to 1,856 babies in the United States in 2025, making it the 366th most popular name of the year. That is roughly one in every 1,786 babies born.
The history of Ashley
Ashley reached its highest point in 1987, when 55,265 babies were given the name, ranking 3rd that year.
Across the 146 years of records since 1880, 875,722 babies have been named Ashley. Half of them were born before 1991, which places the name's centre of gravity with Millennials.
Ashley has switched sex over its history: it went mostly to boys in its early decades, and goes mostly to girls today.
Ashley by decade
| Decade | Babies named Ashley | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 80 | 1,080 |
| 1890s | 108 | 1,181 |
| 1900s | 96 | 1,487 |
| 1910s | 365 | 1,684 |
| 1920s | 464 | 1,811 |
| 1930s | 305 | 2,165 |
| 1940s | 689 | 1,538 |
| 1950s | 880 | 1,632 |
| 1960s | 3,865 | 561 |
| 1970s | 25,272 | 116 |
| 1980s | 357,399 | 3 |
| 1990s | 303,144 | 3 |
| 2000s | 133,706 | 22 |
| 2010s | 37,550 | 97 |
| 2020s | 11,799 | 296 |
Where Ashley is heading
Ashley has fallen 46% over the past decade, from 3,455 babies in 2015 to 1,856 in 2025.
That is less than 5% of its 1987 peak — Ashley is now a rare name in the United States.
Names like Ashley
Names that rose and fell at the same time as Ashley.