Ashby
Masculine
Ashby is given to both — 1,655 boys and 743 girls since 1880. See Ashby as a girl nameSee other names given to both
Ashby is an English place name used as a first name, recorded for boys and girls alike. One place of that name has a castle that was blown up on purpose, only partly, and the standing half is still there.
How old is the name Ashby?
Ashby was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Ashby alive today was born around 1964, making them about 61 years old. About 1,000 people named Ashby are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Ashby most popular?
Ashby peaked in 1885, reaching #604 nationally. Today it ranks #6446, 5,842 places below that high. See the whole 1885 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Ashby
Ashby de la Zouch is in Leicestershire and takes its second half from a Norman family who held it. Its castle was held for the king in the civil war, besieged, surrendered on terms, and then slighted: the deliberate partial demolition that parliament applied to fortifications it did not want used again. The tower was mined and one side brought down, leaving a clean vertical section standing to full height with the floors and fireplaces exposed. It has stayed that way for nearly four centuries. Slighting was a routine administrative decision and it produced some of the most striking ruins in England entirely by accident.
Meaningnot established
Not established
The English place name joins the ash tree to a Norse word for a farmstead, and that reading is documented. Whether an American Ashby comes from a particular place or was built from the sounds is not recorded.
Pronouncing Ashby
ASH-bee
Two syllables with the stress in front. Nothing in it invites hesitation.
Nicknames for Ashby
Limited
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1880
- Most boys named
- 201732 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #604reached in 1885
- Change vs 2022
- +44.4%13 in 2025, from 9
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Ashby in other languages
Strongest US states over the last decade: Virginia.
Ashbys among us
people named Ashby are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 131,390 born in 2025 was named Ashby
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Ashby 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.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Ashby beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Ashby in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- It is read correctly at first sight and never needs spelling out loud.
- Ash comes off the front as a short form and works for either sex.
- It is recorded for boys and for girls, so it leaves a question open rather than closing it.
- It reads as a surname or a place name to most listeners, which suits some families and not others.
- This spelling goes mostly to boys but is recorded for girls too, so a form will occasionally guess wrong.
- No origin is documented for the first name, so the meaning question has nothing settled to answer with.
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Ashby
Masculine · #6446 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Ashbys are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,000 people named Ashby are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Ashby in 2025?
- Ashby ranks #6446 among US boy names in 2025, with 13 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Ashby?
- About 1 in every 131,390 US boys born in 2025 was named Ashby — 13 in all.
- Will my child share the name Ashby with classmates?
- Ashby will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Ashby
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Rollie#6446 · Billie#6446 · Worth#6446 · Blas#6446 · Starling#6446 · Alvis#6446 · Elwyn#6446 · Rollin#6446
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Ashby? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Ashby and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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