Ashley (name)

Infobox Given name 2
name = Ashley


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pronunciation=
gender = Male, Female
meaning = Ash tree meadow
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origin = English
related names =
footnotes =The name "Ashley" is of English origin, from a place name and surname that meant "from the ash tree field/meadow" ("ash" referring to the tree and "-ley" coming from "lea", a somewhat archaic English word meaning "field" or "meadow").

As a given name, like most surnames turned into first names, Ashley was originally used for male children, but it gained popularity as a female first name in the United States in the late 20th century. Its sudden rise in popularity is generally attributed to the emergence of the female soap opera character Ashley Abbott on "The Young and The Restless" in 1982. Fact|date=May 2008 In the United Kingdom the name is still used for boys, thanks in part to Ashley Wilkes, a character from "Gone with the Wind".Fact|date=April 2008

As with many names that achieve immense popularity, a number of spellings of Ashley emerged. The Social Security Administration has record [ [http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames Popular baby names ] ] of people named:
* Ashley
* Ashleigh
* Ashlee
* Ashly
* Ashlie
* Ashli
* Ashlea

Notable bearers of this name include:

As a given name:
* Ashley Ambrose (born 1970), American football player
* Ashley Blue (born 1981), American Adult film star
* Ashley Bouder (living), New York City Ballet principal dancer
* Ashley Callus (born 1979), Australian swimmer
* Ashley Cole (born 1980), English football player
* Ashley Cooper (born 1936), Australian tennis player
* Ashley Carrington, (pseudonym of German writer Rainer M. Schröder)
* Ashley Dupree (born 1985), call girl known for the woman of the center of the Elliot Spitzer prostitution scandal
* Ashley Force (born 1982), American racer
* Ashley Giles (born 1973), English cricketer
* Ashley Hames (born 1970), English television presenter
* Ashley Harkleroad (born 1985), American tennis player
* Ashley Leggat (born 1986), actress best known from television show "Life with Derek"
* Ashley Massaro (born 1979), WWE Diva for the "Raw" brand.
* Ashley Judd (born 1968 as Ashley Tyler Ciminella), American actress
* Ashley Montagu (1905-1999), British anthropologist and humanist
* Ashley Olsen (born 1986), American actress
* Ashley Pérez Mosa (born 1987), Mexican-American singer of the duo Ha*Ash
* Ashley Parker Angel (born 1981), a pop/rock singer formerly in the boy band O-Town
* Ashley Slanina-Davies (born 1989), British actress
* Ashley Smith, the hostage held by Brian Nichols
* Ashley Spalding (born 1980), real name of porn star Kaylani Lei
* Ashley Tisdale (born 1985), American singer and actress
* Ashley Wagner (born 1991), American figure skater
* Ashley Whitney (born 1979), American freestyle swimmer
* Ashley Wood (born 1971), Australian comic book and concept artist
* Ashley Lelie (born 1980), American football player
* Ashley X, the "pillow angel" from Seattle, the subject of the Ashley Treatment
* Ashley Young (born 1985), Aston Villa and England striker

As a surname:
* Anthony Evelyn Melbourne Ashley (1836-1907), English writer and politician
* Ian Ashley (born 1947), former British Formula 1 race car driver
* Jack Ashley, Baron Ashley of Stoke (born 1922), British Life Peer and former Labour MP
* Jackie Ashley (born 1954), British journalist
* Laura Ashley (1925–1985), British designer
* Sir Bernard Ashley (born 1926), a Welsh businessman/engineer and widower of Laura Ashley
* Sir William Ashley (1860-1927), Economic historian

As a variant of the name Ashley:
* Ashlee Simpson-Wentz (born 1984), an American pop/rock singer and actress
* Ashley (singer) (born 1971) A Puerto Rican merengue singer

The name Ashley also appears in literature and popular culture.
* Ashley (WarioWare), a character from "WarioWare: Touched!" for the Nintendo DS
* Ashley Mizuki Robbins, the hero of "Trace Memory" for the Nintendo DS
* Ashley Wilkes, a central character from the novel "Gone with the Wind"
* "Ask Ashley", a comedy skit appearing on Nickelodeon's "All That"
* Ashley J. Williams, the hero of the "Evil Dead" film series
* Ashley Peacock, a character from "Coronation Street"
* Ashley Riot, the hero of Vagrant Story
* Ashley Winchester, a main character of Wild Arms 2

References