How to say it
ASH · ley
/ˈæʃ.li/
Feminine
Ashley
Ash-tree meadow
What it means
Old English place name from æsc ('ash tree') + lēah ('meadow'). Masculine through the 19th century (Gone with the Wind's Ashley Wilkes was a man); flipped strongly feminine in the US in the 1980s.
Ashley is an English place name from Old English æsc ('ash tree') + lēah ('clearing, meadow'). The surname has been common in England for centuries. Margaret Mitchell's Gone with the Wind (1936) features Ashley Wilkes as Scarlett O'Hara's first love — a male character; Ashley was masculine in English usage through the 19th century. The flip to feminine usage in the US happened in the 1970s and 1980s; by 1990 Ashley was the second-most-common feminine name in the country. It peaked then and has been sliding gently. Common shorts: Ash, Lee.
Popularity over time
peaked at #1 in 1991, currently #164 in 2025.
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, names given to at least 5 babies in a year, 1880–present. See where the names are moving
Heads-up notes
- Pop culture
Gone with the Wind's Ashley Wilkes was a man (Leslie Howard in the 1939 film); the name was masculine through the 19th century. The US feminine flip happened in the 1970s-80s.
Who's worn it
Historical figures, characters, and public faces who share the name. The cultural surface, for whatever weight you want to give it.
- Ashley Wilkes Male love interest in Gone with the Wind, 1936
- Ashley Olsen American actress and designer, Mary-Kate and Ashley
- Ashley Judd American actress and activist
Spelling variants
- Ashlee
- Ashleigh
Names with the same feeling
See Ashley from another angle
By meaning
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