Paislei
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly derived from the town Paisley in Scotland.
Name Census estimates that about 176 living Americans carry the first name Paislei. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Paislei today is around 9 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Paislei births was 2018 (23 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Paislei. 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.
People living today
176
~ 1 in 1,947,468 Americans
Peak year
2018
23 babies that year
Average age
9
years old
2024 SSA rank
#17,022
Tracked since 2009
Popularity
Paislei: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Paislei from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 109 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Paislei remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Paislei 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 Paislei 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 Paislei
The given name Paislei has its origins in the Scottish town of Paisley, which is located in the west-central Lowlands region of Scotland. The town's name is derived from the Brittonic Celtic words "bas" meaning "pasture" and "lēdig" meaning "prince or lord". The combination of these words is thought to have originally referred to a prosperous settlement belonging to a prince or chieftain.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Paislei can be found in the Scottish Gaelic poem "The Brus" by John Barbour, written in the late 14th century. The poem mentions a character named "Paislei the Valiant", though little is known about this individual beyond their name.
In the 16th century, the town of Paisley became renowned for its thriving textile industry, particularly in the production of intricately patterned shawls known as Paisley shawls. This association with the town's textile heritage may have contributed to the name's popularity in subsequent centuries.
One of the earliest known individuals with the given name Paislei was Paislei Muirhead (c. 1590-1661), a Scottish minister and scholar who served as the Principal of the University of Glasgow from 1644 until his death.
Another notable bearer of the name was Paislei Paterson (1703-1789), a Scottish-born American merchant and landowner who played a significant role in the early development of the colony of New Jersey.
In the 19th century, Paislei Grier (1828-1901) was a respected American educator and author, best known for her work in promoting education for women and advocating for the abolition of slavery.
The name Paislei also found its way into the literary world, with Paislei Weston (1875-1941) being a British author and playwright whose works explored themes of feminism and social justice.
Lastly, Paislei Harkrader (1915-2002) was an American artist and sculptor, renowned for her abstract and modernist works, which can be found in numerous public collections and museums across the United States.
People
Paislei + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Paislei as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with P
Other first names starting with P with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Paislei: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Paislei?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 176 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Paislei 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 1,947,468 US residents.
Is Paislei a common name?
We classify Paislei as "Very Rare". It ranks above 72.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 177 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Paislei most popular?
The single biggest year for Paislei was 2018, when 23 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Paislei is about 9 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Paislei a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Paislei 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.
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.