Head to head · Girls' names
Anastasia vs Ashley
#163 vs #164 in 2025 · both holding its place on the charts
Anastasia is a whisker ahead (#163 vs #164 in 2025) and both are holding its place on the charts. The records will not split these two — sound, story and your own last name will.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
On the charts, Anastasia leads 3 measures of 6; Ashley leads 2.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1880s: Anastasia #522, Ashley — — Anastasia higher
- 1890s: Anastasia #524, Ashley — — Anastasia higher
- 1900s: Anastasia #598, Ashley — — Anastasia higher
- 1910s: Anastasia #586, Ashley #4594 — Anastasia higher
- 1920s: Anastasia #733, Ashley — — Anastasia higher
- 1930s: Anastasia #1060, Ashley #3450 — Anastasia higher
- 1940s: Anastasia #1366, Ashley #3282 — Anastasia higher
- 1950s: Anastasia #1435, Ashley #2517 — Anastasia higher
- 1960s: Anastasia #855, Ashley #812 — Ashley higher
- 1970s: Anastasia #658, Ashley #168 — Ashley higher
- 1980s: Anastasia #494, Ashley #11 — Ashley higher
- 1990s: Anastasia #331, Ashley #3 — Ashley higher
- 2000s: Anastasia #302, Ashley #10 — Ashley higher
- 2010s: Anastasia #243, Ashley #85 — Ashley higher
- 2020s: Anastasia #166, Ashley #149 — Ashley higher
Anastasia stood higher in 8 of 15 decades; Ashley has held the lead since the 1960s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Anastasia | Ashley |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #522 | — |
| 1890s | #524 | — |
| 1900s | #598 | — |
| 1910s | #586 | #4594 |
| 1920s | #733 | — |
| 1930s | #1060 | #3450 |
| 1940s | #1366 | #3282 |
| 1950s | #1435 | #2517 |
| 1960s | #855 | #812 |
| 1970s | #658 | #168 |
| 1980s | #494 | #11 |
| 1990s | #331 | #3 |
| 2000s | #302 | #10 |
| 2010s | #243 | #85 |
| 2020s | #166 | #149 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Anastasia
Resurrection; she who will rise again
From Greek anastasis, 'resurrection, a rising up' — the feminine counterpart of the man's name Anastasios.
anastasis (Greek: resurrection) → Anastasios → Anastasia → Anastasiya → Stacy
How it traveled
The name is Greek and Christian from the start: anastasis was the word for the Resurrection, and Anastasia was given to daughters as a piece of that vocabulary. It spread with the Eastern church into the Slavic world, where it became one of the great staples of Russian and Ukrainian naming, and westward into Latin Christendom, where it survived in calendars and saints' days.
Ashley
ash-tree clearing or meadow
From Old English æsc, "ash tree", and lēah, "clearing, woodland meadow" — the same lēah that ends Bradley, Shirley and dozens of English place names.
Æsc + lēah (Old English elements) → Ashley (English place name) → Ashley (English surname) → Ashley (given name, originally male) → Ashley (American given name for girls)
How it traveled
Ashley started as an English place name, attached to more than one village and hamlet, and from those places it became a family surname. Surnames of that kind were regularly recycled as first names in Britain, and for centuries Ashley was given to boys — it sat comfortably in aristocratic naming, where a mother's family name was often handed to a son.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Anastasia
an-uh-STAY-zhuh
That is the usual American pronunciation. Greek, Russian and much of Europe say an-ah-stah-SEE-ah, stressing the second-to-last syllable, and plenty of families in the US use that version too.
- Ana — The most portable short form in English and Spanish alike; also stands alone as a given name.
- Stacy — A historic English clipping of Anastasia that became an independent name; strongly represented among older generations.
- Nastya — The standard everyday short form in Russian and Ukrainian, informal and used among family and friends.
- Stasia — Used in Polish and Slavic families, and by English speakers who prefer the tail of the name to the head.
- Also Tasia, Asya.
Ashley
ASH-lee
Two syllables, stress on the first. Pronounced the same in American and British English, and the spelling gives no trouble to readers of either.
- Ash — The usual short form, informal, and also used as a standalone given name for both girls and boys.
- Ashy — Family-only diminutive, mostly used with small children.
- Lee — Less common, drawn from the second syllable; a long-established given name in its own right for men and women.
Who has carried each name
Anastasia
Anastasia Nikolaevna, Grand Duchess of Russia (b. 1901) — The tsar's daughter whose rumored survival inspired decades of legend and films
Ashley
Ashley Tisdale (b. 1985) — High School Musical's Sharpay
Ashley Olsen (b. 1986) — Child star turned high-fashion mogul (The Row)
Ashley Graham (b. 1987) — Barrier-breaking supermodel
Source: Wikidata — the one source on this page that is not an official agency.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Anastasia if you want…
- a name with more sound in itAnastasia runs 4 syllables, Ashley 2
- plenty of nickname options6 recorded short forms — Ana, Stacy and Nastya
- a long American recordAnastasia was already in use when US records began in 1880
Choose Ashley if you want…
- a name with fewer syllablesAshley is 2 syllables to Anastasia's 4
- a newer arrivalAshley entered the US charts in 1917
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Anastasia
Strengths
- A settled, documented meaning in Greek — resurrection — with no competing readings.
- Recognized across Greek, Russian, Ukrainian, Polish, Italian and Spanish, with spellings close enough that it travels intact.
- Several long-established short forms, from Ana to Stacy to Nastya, so the child has real choices rather than invented ones.
To consider
- Two pronunciations coexist: an-uh-STAY-zhuh and an-ah-stah-SEE-ah. Both are correct, but she will be asked which one she uses, probably for life.
- Five syllables and nine letters. Forms, teachers and coffee cups will shorten it whether or not the family does.
- The name is closely tied to the Romanov story and the films it produced, and more recently to the heroine of the Fifty Shades novels. Neither association is overwhelming, but both are out there.
Ashley
Strengths
- The meaning is transparent and unromanticised: ash tree, clearing. Nothing about it is disputed.
- Everyone in the English-speaking world already knows how to say it, and the base spelling is the one they will reach for first.
- A documented line running from Old English place names through surnames to given name — an unbroken paper trail rather than a recent coinage.
To consider
- It is closely bound to one generation of American women — a great many adults answer to it, so on a baby it may read as a grown-up's name for a while. Names that sit in that position often come back around, but not on a schedule anyone can promise.
- Ashleigh, Ashlee and Ashly all exist, so expect to spell it aloud even though yours is the standard version.
- In Britain the name is still given to boys, and older books and films — Gone with the Wind among them — use it that way. Rarely a problem in the US, but worth knowing where it comes from.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Anastasia
40%chance Anastasia feels dated by 2040
Anastasia sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
Ashley
25%chance Ashley feels dated by 2040
Ashley peaked long ago yet still holds steady — names that survive their own wave usually settle into quiet, durable classics.
A reading of where each name sits on the long naming cycle — computed, not measured, and explained on the data page.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Anastasia and Ashley in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Anastasia and Ashley?
Put both to the vote.
One link to your partner, your parents, your sister. Each of them gets the two names, a one-tap answer and room to say why — and every reply lands in one place.
Free to start · no account needed · everyone you invite votes in one tap
More than two in the running? Settle it with a bracket or run the full comparison with your last name.
More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists that carry both names
Every list here names both Anastasia and Ashley — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Anastasia or Ashley — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Anastasia or Ashley?
- Anastasia, in 2025: Anastasia ranked #163 with 1,832 babies; Ashley ranked #164 with 1,829 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Anastasia or Ashley?
- Neither is rising. Over the last five years Anastasia moved down 5 places; Ashley moved down 11 places.
- Which is the older name, Anastasia or Ashley?
- Anastasia was already in use when US records began in 1880; Ashley entered the US charts in 1917. On the American record, Anastasia is the older name.
- How many people are named Anastasia and Ashley?
- About 53,000 people named Anastasia are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 843,000 people named Ashley are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Anastasias or Ashleys in the classroom?
- Anastasia will almost certainly be the only one in school. Ashley will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
Keep playing
Sixty more head-to-heads are dealt in the arena every day — or line up Anastasia, Ashley and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
Free to start · no account needed · everyone you invite votes in one tap