Girls' name · peaked in 1987
Ashley name popularity since 1925
874,837 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Ashley (98.3% girls, 1.7% boys). Half of them were born in 1991 or earlier, so the typical Ashley is about 35 years old in 2026. Ashley peaked in 1987 as the #2 name for girls, and it ranked #164 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 874,837
- Named Ashley, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- #164
- for girls in 2025 (1,829 babies)
- Girls / boys
- 98.3% girls
- 859,852 girls · 14,985 boys
- Most popular in
- Nevada
- 1.64× its national share
Peak year is the year Ashley made up the largest share of US girls, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Ashley births per year, 1925–2025
1987 was the biggest year for Ashley both by count and as a share of all babies.
- Fastest rise: Between 1978 and 1983, Ashley became 8.8× more common, from 1 in 440 baby girls to 1 in 50.
- Steepest fall: Between 2007 and 2012, its share of baby girls fell by 55%, from 1 in 168 to 1 in 375.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Ashley's share of all US girls five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Ashley.
Decade by decade
Babies named Ashley in each decade, and its rank among girls' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 0 | 228 | – |
| 1930s | 7 | 298 | Under 5 |
| 1940s | 86 | 603 | #2,927 |
| 1950s | 221 | 659 | #4,393 |
| 1960s | 2,566 | 1,299 | #669 |
| 1970s | 21,053 | 4,219 | #138 |
| 1980s | 352,185 | 5,214 | #2 |
| 1990s | 301,820 | 1,324 | #2 |
| 2000s | 133,051 | 655 | #10 |
| 2010s | 37,237 | 313 | #86 |
| 2020–25 | 11,626 | 173 | #164 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 girls that year, so they can go past 1,000. "Under 5" means fewer than 5 girls got the name.
Generation fingerprint
67.8% of babies named Ashley from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Millennial years (1981–1996). The full split by generation:
Where Ashley is most popular
The index compares Ashley's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Ashley.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| Nevada | 1.64× | 5,139 |
| Florida | 1.49× | 47,459 |
| Delaware | 1.32× | 2,408 |
| Alaska | 1.28× | 1,677 |
| Arizona | 1.24× | 14,163 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Ashley and were given to at least 1,000 girls from 1925 to 2025, with the year each one was most popular.
| Spelling | Girls | Peak year |
|---|---|---|
| Ashley (this page) | 859,852 | 1987 |
| Ashlee | 43,533 | 1987 |
| Ashly | 12,179 | 1987 |
| Ashlie | 10,073 | 1988 |
| Ashli | 5,718 | 1989 |
| Ashlei | 2,044 | 1987 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 499 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Ashley's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Ashley.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Ashley (1987).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data