Ashal
A feminine Arabic name meaning "honey-colored" or "dark brown".
Name Census estimates that about 12 living Americans carry the first name Ashal. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Ashal today is around 5 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ashal births was 2023 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ashal. 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 Ashal with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Ashal. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
12
~ 1 in 28,562,862 Americans
Peak year
2023
7 babies that year
Average age
5
years old
2023 SSA rank
#9,836
Tracked since 2018
Popularity
Ashal: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ashal from the 2010s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 7 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ashal 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 Ashal during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Ashal
The name Ashal is believed to have its origins in the Arabic language, tracing back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Arabic word "ashal," which means "authentic" or "genuine." This name was commonly used in the regions of the Middle East and North Africa during the medieval period.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name Ashal can be found in the writings of the renowned Arab scholar and philosopher, Avicenna (980-1037 CE). In his famous work, "The Book of Healing," he mentions an individual named Ashal ibn Malik, who was a respected physician and scholar of his time.
During the 12th century, the name Ashal gained prominence in the Islamic world, particularly in the areas of present-day Iraq and Iran. Historical records indicate that Ashal ibn Muhammad al-Baghdadi (1162-1239 CE) was a prominent mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the study of celestial mechanics.
In the 13th century, Ashal al-Din al-Hafiz (1205-1277 CE), a renowned Sufi scholar and poet, carried the name Ashal. His poetic works, which explored themes of spirituality and mysticism, were widely celebrated and continue to be studied to this day.
Another notable figure from history who bore the name Ashal was Ashal ibn Abi al-Qasim (1303-1375 CE), a prominent jurist and scholar of Islamic law. He served as a judge and legal advisor in the court of the Mamluk Sultanate, which ruled over Egypt and Syria during that era.
In the 15th century, Ashal ibn Yahya al-Andalusi (1420-1492 CE) was a renowned Islamic scholar and philosopher from the Iberian Peninsula. His writings on various subjects, including mathematics, astronomy, and metaphysics, were highly respected and influential during his lifetime.
While the name Ashal may not be as common today as it once was, it remains a part of the rich cultural heritage of the Arab world and serves as a testament to the enduring influence of the Arabic language and Islamic civilization throughout history.
People
Ashal + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ashal 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
Ashal: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ashal?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 12 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ashal 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 28,562,862 US residents.
Is Ashal a common name?
We classify Ashal as "Very Rare". It ranks above 32.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 12 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ashal most popular?
The single biggest year for Ashal was 2023, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ashal is about 5 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Ashal in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ashal a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ashal in the SSA data are male. 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 Ashal still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ashal 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 Ashal 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people share the name Ashal?
Want to know how many people have the name Ashal? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.