Ashlyn
A feminine name of English origin meaning "from the ash-tree meadow".
Name Census estimates that about 46,958 living Americans carry the first name Ashlyn. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Ashlyn today is around 21 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ashlyn births was 2005 (2,544 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ashlyn. 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 Ashlyn with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Ashlyn is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 54 boys registered with the name since 1880.
People living today
47K
~ 1 in 7,299 Americans
Peak year
2005
2,544 babies that year
Average age
21
years old
2013 SSA rank
#908
Tracked since 1963
Census
Ashlyn in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 42,213 people with the first name Ashlyn, which placed it at #1,012 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
#1,012
National first-name rank
People counted
42K
42,213 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
14.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
79.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ashlyn
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ashlyn is White at 79.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.7%) and Two or More Races (5.0%). 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 Ashlyn 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 Ashlyn at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White79.8% · 33,669
- Hispanic or Latino7.7% · 3,264
- Two or more races5.0% · 2,113
- Black or African American4.8% · 2,012
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.0% · 825
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 330
Gender
Gender distribution for Ashlyn
Out of the 47,822 babies given the name Ashlyn since 1880, 99.9% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Ashlyn as a male name
- Ranked #12,324 in 2013
- 5 male births in 2013
- Peak: 2004 (10 births)
Ashlyn as a female name
- Ranked #908 in 2024
- 291 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2005 (2,539 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Ashlyn appears almost entirely female. Of the 42,211 people counted with this name, 99.7% were female and only a very small share were male.
Popularity
Ashlyn: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ashlyn from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 22,505 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ashlyn 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 Ashlyn during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Ashlyns live
The SSA's state-level files cover 51 states and territories. Texas, California, Florida recorded the most babies named Ashlyn, while District of Columbia, Vermont, Rhode Island recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 910 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Ashlyn
The name Ashlyn has its origins in the English language and is a relatively modern name, emerging in the 20th century. It is a feminine form of the masculine name Ashley, which itself is derived from an Old English surname meaning "ash-tree meadow" or "ash-tree clearing."
The name Ashlyn is a combination of the Old English elements "æsc" meaning "ash tree" and "lēah" meaning "meadow" or "clearing." This combination of elements reflects the name's connection to nature and the English countryside.
While the name Ashley has a long history dating back to the Middle Ages, the variant spelling Ashlyn is a more recent development. The earliest recorded use of the name Ashlyn is believed to be in the late 19th century, but it did not gain widespread popularity until the latter half of the 20th century.
One of the earliest notable individuals with the name Ashlyn was Ashlyn Gere, an American actress born in 1959. She is best known for her roles in films such as "Cocktail" and "The Cotton Club."
Another prominent figure with the name Ashlyn was Ashlyn Harris, an American soccer player born in 1985. She has represented the United States women's national soccer team and has played professionally in the National Women's Soccer League.
In literature, the name Ashlyn appears in the young adult fantasy novel series "The Mortal Instruments" by Cassandra Clare. One of the main characters, Ashlyn Morgenstern, is a prominent figure in the series.
Another notable individual with the name Ashlyn was Ashlyn Sanon, an American singer and actress born in 1991. She is best known for her role in the Nickelodeon television series "Victorious."
Additionally, Ashlyn Rae, an American model and Instagram influencer born in 1995, has gained a significant following on social media platforms.
While the name Ashlyn has gained popularity in recent decades, it remains a relatively uncommon name compared to more traditional names. Its unique combination of elements and association with the natural world make it a distinctive and appealing choice for parents seeking a modern yet meaningful name for their child.
People
Ashlyn + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ashlyn 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
Ashlyn: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ashlyn?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 46,958 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ashlyn 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 7,299 US residents.
Is Ashlyn a common name?
We classify Ashlyn as "Uncommon". It ranks above 99.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 47,822 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ashlyn most popular?
The single biggest year for Ashlyn was 2005, when 2,544 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ashlyn 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 Ashlyn in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 42,213 people with the name Ashlyn, or 13.98 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #1,012 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 Ashlyn 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 Ashlyn?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Ashlyn appears almost entirely female. Of the 42,211 people counted with this name, 99.7% 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 Ashlyn?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ashlyn is White at 79.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.7%) and Two or More Races (5.0%). 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 Ashlyn most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Ashlyn in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.8% (33,669 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 Ashlyn in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ashlyn a female name?
Yes, 99.9% of people registered as Ashlyn 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 Ashlyn still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ashlyn 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 Ashlyn 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 common is the name Ashlyn?
See how many Americans are named Ashlyn on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.