Masterpiece Generator Name Generator
How popular is the name Ashley?
Births per year, rank history and how many Ashleys are alive today.
Ashley (male), once a common boys' name, is now an uncommon choice for new babies in England and Wales, ranked 716th in 2025 with 49 given the name. The name peaked in 1994, when around 2,800 babies were given the name, the 33rd most popular that year. It has declined since 1994; the 2025 figure is roughly 2% of its peak. Numbers have been falling in recent years. At least 39,000 babies have been named Ashley in England and Wales since 1984. Figures before 1996 are estimates.
The Ashley you are most likely to meet is around 33 years old. Half of all Ashleys born in England and Wales are between 31 and 42, and there are at least 51,000 of them alive today. If you walk into a room of 100 males, there's roughly a 16% chance that at least one of them will be called Ashley.
How many babies are named Ashley each year?
Where does Ashley rank among boys' names?
Where this data comes from
Figures from 1996 onwards are the Office for National Statistics' annual baby-name registrations for England and Wales, which record every name given to three or more babies in a year. Figures before 1996 are estimates: the ONS published only top-100 rankings at ten-year intervals back to 1904, so counts for those years are modelled from the rankings, calibrated against Douglas Galbi's long-run research into English name frequencies, and shown with an uncertainty band. Estimates of living bearers combine these birth figures with national life tables and ONS mid-year population estimates.
One limit worth naming: these figures count names as registered at birth. Anyone who changes their name later in life - including trans people, and anyone who adopts a different name by deed poll or simply by use - is not reflected here. Birth registrations record where a name began, not the name a person lives with.
Common questions
When was the name Ashley most popular?
Ashley peaked in 1994, when around 2,800 babies in England and Wales were given the name.
How many people are called Ashley?
At least 51,000 people named Ashley born in England and Wales are alive today.
How old is the typical Ashley?
Most living Ashleys are between 31 and 42; the most common age is about 33.
Is Ashley becoming more or less popular?
Declining: recent figures are a fraction of the 1994 peak.