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US baby names · Girls · 1880–2025

Ashley: name popularity by year

How often US parents chose Ashley for a baby girl, year by year, from Social Security Administration records. When it peaked, how long it stayed in the top 10, and which generation it belongs to.

The short answer

Ashley was one of the 10 most common girls' names in the US in 23 years, between 1983 and 2005, and the #1 name in 2 of them. Births peaked in 1987, when 54,856 baby girls were named Ashley, so by peak year it is a Millennials name.

Generation at the peak
Millennials
Born 1981–1996
Peak year
1987
54,856 baby girls named Ashley
Years in the top 10
23
1983–2005
Best rank
#1
#1 in 2 years
Babies named Ashley
859,857
Girls, 1880–2025 (859,857)

Ashley in the US top 10, by year

#1#5#1018801920196020002025

Rank among girls' names, #1 at the top. Blank years: outside the top 10. Dashed line: the year with the most babies named Ashley (1987).

Top-10 years by generation

Years Ashley spent in the US top 10, by generation of the babies
GenerationYears in top 10Best rank
Millennials 14 (1983–1996) #1
Generation Z 9 (1997–2005) #3

Questions people ask

When was the name Ashley most popular?

By number of babies, in 1987, when 54,856 girls were given the name. By rank, it was #1 in 2 years and spent 23 years in the top 10.

What generation is the name Ashley?

Its peak year, 1987, falls in Millennials (1981–1996). Its 23 top-10 years fall in: Millennials (14), Generation Z (9).

How many people have been named Ashley?

SSA counted 859,857 girls named Ashley born from 1880 to 2025. That is births, not people alive today, and it misses many people born before 1937 who never applied for a Social Security card.

In the top 10 at the same time

Source: US Social Security Administration baby-name data, from Social Security card applications for births in the 50 states and the District of Columbia, 1880–2025. Many people born before 1937 never applied for a card, so early years undercount. Spellings are counted separately. We hold each year's top 10 in rank order and each name's peak-year and all-time counts, so the chart shows rank rather than births per year. This page gives no meaning or origin for the name and no estimate of how many people named Ashley are alive today.