Ashlan
Feminine
Ashlan is given to both — 1,018 girls and 80 boys since 1880. See other names given to both
The ash is the tree the Norse hung the world on. Yggdrasil, the tree at the center of everything with its roots in three worlds, is an ash; and in the same body of myth the first man was made out of one and named for it — Askr, which is simply the word for the tree.
How old is the name Ashlan?
Ashlan first appears in US birth records in 1983 — 42 years ago. The typical Ashlan alive today was born around 2000, making them about 25 years old. About 1,000 people named Ashlan are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Ashlan most popular?
Ashlan peaked in 1997, reaching #2695 nationally. See the whole 1997 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From the ash as the world tree of Norse myth to Ashlan
The story of Ashlan
The ash was the practical tree of northern Europe as well as the mythological one. It is springy, it does not splinter, and it takes shock better than any other native timber, which made it the wood for spear shafts, axe handles, cart wheels and later for aircraft frames and tennis racquets. A people who fought with spears and traveled on wheels had reason to put it at the center of the world. The tree is now dying across Europe from a fungus, which is a modern footnote to a very old reverence.
Meaningnot established
Not established
The name looks like a compound of the tree with a word for land, and it may be one; it may equally be Ashley or Ashlyn respelled, or Ashland, which is a place name found in a dozen American states. It appears in the record only recently and in very small numbers, which means there is no established usage to appeal to and no dictionary entry to consult.
How the name formed
- the ash as the world tree of Norse myth
- the first man made from one and named for it
- English place names built on the tree
- Ashland, Ashley and Ashlyn in American use
- Ashlan appears in the record in the 1990s
Related forms: Ashland · Ashlyn · Askr
Pronouncing Ashlan
ASH-lun
Two syllables, stress at the front. The second syllable has no identifiable vowel, which is why the record carries Ashlan, Ashlen and Ashlyn.
Nicknames for Ashlan
Moderate
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
- 1983
- Most girls named
- 200964 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2695reached in 1997
- Change vs 2018
- −20.0%8 in 2020, from 10
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.
Ashlan in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Ashland in English — related form
- Ashlyn in English — related form
- Askr in Old Norse — related form
Ashlans among us
people named Ashlan are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Ashlan sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- Ash is available immediately and is thoroughly current for either sex.
- It is read correctly at sight and holds no surprises.
- The tree behind it is concrete and has a very good mythology attached.
- It is extremely rare, so there is no established usage and no model for how it wears.
- Ashlyn and Ashland are both commoner and will be substituted.
- There is no settled meaning and no agreed origin.
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Ashlan
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Ashlans 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 Ashlan are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Ashlan in 2025?
- Ashlan is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Ashlan with classmates?
- Ashlan will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More A names
The most-given names starting with A, all years combined.
Anna#107 · Ashley#164 · Amanda#493 · Amy#257 · Angela#408 · Alice#65 · Ann#1076 · Andrea#235
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Ashlan? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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