Aisling
A feminine Irish name meaning "dream" or "vision".
Name Census estimates that about 1,464 living Americans carry the first name Aisling. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Aisling today is around 21 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Aisling births was 2002 (61 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Aisling. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Aisling with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
1.5K
~ 1 in 234,122 Americans
Peak year
2002
61 babies that year
Average age
21
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,547
Tracked since 1972
Census
Aisling in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,447 people with the first name Aisling, which placed it at #9,556 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#9,556
National first-name rank
People counted
1.4K
1,447 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
84.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Aisling
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Aisling is White at 84.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.6%) and Hispanic (6.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Aisling described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Aisling at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White84.3% · 1,220
- Two or more races6.6% · 96
- Hispanic or Latino6.6% · 95
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.4% · 20
- Black or African American1.1% · 16
Popularity
Aisling: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Aisling from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 422 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Aisling remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Aisling by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Aisling during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Aislings live
The SSA's state-level files cover 7 states and territories. California, New York, Massachusetts recorded the most babies named Aisling, while Florida, Pennsylvania, New Jersey recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 64 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Aisling
The given name Aisling is of Irish Gaelic origin, derived from the Old Irish word "aisling" meaning "vision" or "dream." It gained popularity in Ireland during the early medieval period, around the 7th to 10th centuries.
Aisling was initially associated with literary works and poetry, particularly those depicting allegorical visions or dreams. The name appeared in Irish bardic poems and tales, where a personified Ireland was often portrayed as a beautiful woman named Aisling, representing the nation's aspirations for freedom and sovereignty.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Aisling can be found in the medieval Irish text "Aisling Meic Con Glinne," dated around the 12th century. This work is a celebrated dream vision poem that influenced subsequent Irish literature and political thought.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Aisling. One of the most famous was Aisling Ghéar (1610-1644), an Irish noblewoman and poet known for her influential works that celebrated Irish culture and language during the turbulent 17th century.
Another prominent Aisling was Aisling Ní Chuanaigh (1733-1798), a renowned Irish-language poet and songwriter from County Mayo. Her compositions often focused on themes of love, nature, and the hardships faced by the Irish people under British rule.
In the 20th century, Aisling Bhuí (1902-1984), born Aisling Ní Ghairbhí, was a respected Irish writer, journalist, and activist. She played a significant role in the Irish language revival movement and contributed to various publications promoting Irish culture and traditions.
Aisling Forker (1952-2021) was a notable Irish writer and broadcaster who wrote extensively about Northern Irish history, culture, and politics. Her works shed light on the experiences of the Catholic community during the Troubles in Northern Ireland.
Aisling Franciosi (born 1993) is a contemporary Irish actress known for her roles in films such as "The Nightingale" and "The Unforgivable." She has received critical acclaim for her portrayal of complex and emotionally charged characters.
People
Aisling + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Aisling as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with A
Other first names starting with A with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Aisling: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Aisling?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,464 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Aisling going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 234,122 US residents.
Is Aisling a common name?
We classify Aisling as "Rare". It ranks above 92.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,494 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Aisling most popular?
The single biggest year for Aisling was 2002, when 61 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Aisling is about 21 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Aisling in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,447 people with the name Aisling, or 0.48 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #9,556 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Aisling in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Aisling?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Aisling appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,444 people counted with this name, 99.6% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Aisling?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Aisling is White at 84.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.6%) and Hispanic (6.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Aisling most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Aisling in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.3% (1,220 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Aisling in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Aisling a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Aisling in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Aisling still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Aisling in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Aisling can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have the name Aisling?
See how many Americans are named Aisling on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.