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 (clearing, meadow) and translates to "Dweller near the ash tree meadow".
4-579: Ashleigh is the feminine form of the Old English name Ashley , which means "dweller near the ash tree forest". It is most common in the United States and United Kingdom. Ashley (given name) The use of Ashley as a first name began in England after 1860, likely in honour of Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 7th Earl of Shaftesbury , a social reformer styled Lord Ashley. It was used more intensely starting in
8-500: A ranking of #17 for girls in 1987, and left the top 100 in 2011. It reached a ranking of #56 in 1985 for boys. For women, the Ashleigh spelling is as common as Ashley and reached a ranking of #13 in 1990. In the 1940s, Americans started using the Ashley for girls and was more common for girls starting in 1964. Ashley was considered a surname style name at the time. In the 1980s the name had
12-455: The 1970s. Appearances of the boys' name in popular culture include Ashley Wilkes in 1939's Gone with the Wind and Ash Williams (Ashley Williams) in the 1981 film The Evil Dead . Ashley in England and Wales was used predominately for boys, ranking at #33 in 1994 for boys and staying within the top 100–300 male names given each year. Ashley was used for English girls but the Ashleigh spelling
16-479: Was preferred, reaching a rank of #55 in 1994. Ashley was popular for girls from the 1970s and peaked in popularity in 1987 ranking #10 for girls. Ashley is generally more common for Irish born girls than boys, with the Ashleigh spelling being almost as popular and only ranking for girls. Ashley entered the top 100 names for boys in New South Wales in 1971 but became more popular for girls in 1986. It reached
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