Fun Facts About the Name Ainsley
- More than 20 thousand babies named Ainsley: U.S. records list 20,892 babies given the name Ainsley from 1880 through 2025. Even 426 boys received the name Ainsley - about 1 boy for every 48 girls.
What Does the Name Ainsley Mean?
Ainsley is an English name that began as a surname taken from a place name. It is usually explained as combining the Old English elements ān, meaning "one" or "alone," and lēah, meaning "wood" or "clearing in a wood," which yields the sense "solitary clearing" or "lonely woodland." A second explanation treats the first element as an Old English personal name, An, so that the place was "An's woodland clearing." The two are hard to separate, because the personal name An and the word ān would appear the same in early records.
Ainsley Name History & Origins
The surname is found in several spellings, including Ainsley, Ainslie, Ansley, and Annesley. Annesley, a village in Nottinghamshire, England, is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Aneslei. The spelling Ainslie is chiefly Scottish. The given name developed from these surnames and was uncommon before the twentieth century.
As a first name, Ainsley came into wider use in the later twentieth century, when surnames of this kind were increasingly adopted as given names in the United States, Canada, Britain, and Australia. In the United States it is now given mainly to girls; in Britain it has also been used for boys, and the chef Ainsley Harriott, born in 1957, is a familiar bearer of the name.
How Popular is the Name Ainsley?
Ainsley recorded its highest annual U.S. birth count in 2014. Its best rank was #332 in 2013.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #483 | 621 | 0.0386% |
| 2024 | #706 | 397 | 0.0246% |
| 2023 | #598 | 498 | 0.0311% |
| 2022 | #507 | 622 | 0.0380% |
| 2021 | #365 | 844 | 0.0515% |
| 2020 | #354 | 872 | 0.0540% |
| 2019 | #478 | 654 | 0.0390% |
| 2018 | #399 | 774 | 0.0455% |
| 2017 | #352 | 902 | 0.0523% |
| 2016 | #344 | 969 | 0.0547% |
| 2015 | #338 | 967 | 0.0542% |
| 2014 | #337 | 1,001 | 0.0560% |
| 2013 | #332 | 974 | 0.0555% |
| 2012 | #341 | 930 | 0.0528% |
| 2011 | #363 | 891 | 0.0507% |
| 2010 | #355 | 898 | 0.0505% |
| 2009 | #412 | 772 | 0.0420% |
| 2008 | #443 | 719 | 0.0380% |
| 2007 | #458 | 704 | 0.0366% |
| 2006 | #456 | 693 | 0.0365% |
| 2005 | #440 | 691 | 0.0374% |
| 2004 | #399 | 764 | 0.0416% |
| 2003 | #437 | 686 | 0.0375% |
| 2002 | #454 | 636 | 0.0354% |
| 2001 | #483 | 578 | 0.0321% |
| 2000 | #1,481 | 124 | 0.0068% |
| 1999 | #1,548 | 109 | 0.0061% |
| 1998 | #1,508 | 112 | 0.0063% |
| 1997 | #1,899 | 77 | 0.0044% |
| 1996 | #1,792 | 82 | 0.0047% |
| 1995 | #1,920 | 72 | 0.0041% |
| 1994 | #2,188 | 61 | 0.0034% |
| 1993 | #2,033 | 68 | 0.0038% |
| 1992 | #1,908 | 73 | 0.0040% |
| 1991 | #1,856 | 76 | 0.0041% |
| 1990 | #1,735 | 84 | 0.0044% |
| 1989 | #1,805 | 74 | 0.0040% |
| 1988 | #1,839 | 67 | 0.0038% |
| 1987 | #2,309 | 46 | 0.0026% |
| 1986 | #2,512 | 39 | 0.0023% |
| 1985 | #3,084 | 29 | 0.0017% |
| 1984 | #3,727 | 21 | 0.0012% |
| 1983 | #3,244 | 25 | 0.0015% |
| 1982 | #3,531 | 23 | 0.0014% |
| 1981 | #4,346 | 17 | 0.0010% |
| 1980 | #4,979 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 1979 | #4,424 | 16 | 0.0010% |
| 1978 | #4,934 | 13 | 0.0008% |
| 1977 | #5,213 | 12 | 0.0008% |
| 1976 | #5,604 | 10 | 0.0007% |
| 1975 | #5,165 | 11 | 0.0008% |
| 1974 | #8,797 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1973 | #5,196 | 10 | 0.0007% |
| 1972 | #5,113 | 10 | 0.0007% |
| 1971 | #8,338 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1970 | #6,371 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1969 | #7,481 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1965 | #6,546 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1961 | #5,313 | 7 | 0.0003% |
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #8,935 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 2023 | #8,280 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2022 | #7,279 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2021 | #8,183 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2020 | #7,512 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 2018 | #10,803 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2017 | #7,105 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2016 | #6,058 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 2015 | #5,296 | 17 | 0.0009% |
| 2014 | #6,639 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 2013 | #7,035 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2012 | #5,725 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 2011 | #5,956 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 2010 | #12,287 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2009 | #9,008 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 2008 | #5,771 | 15 | 0.0007% |
| 2007 | #9,807 | 7 | 0.0003% |
| 2006 | #8,748 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 2005 | #9,136 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2004 | #5,498 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 2003 | #6,264 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2002 | #6,535 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 2001 | #5,676 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 2000 | #10,397 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1998 | #6,330 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1997 | #7,295 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1996 | #6,510 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1995 | #7,813 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1994 | #8,827 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1993 | #7,649 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1990 | #6,425 | 7 | 0.0003% |
| 1989 | #6,954 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1988 | #4,791 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1987 | #3,525 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 1986 | #5,941 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1985 | #5,797 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1983 | #4,141 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1982 | #5,017 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1981 | #5,486 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1980 | #4,947 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1979 | #4,856 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1977 | #4,170 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1976 | #4,434 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1975 | #5,476 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1974 | #4,643 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1972 | #4,447 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1969 | #4,409 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1963 | #3,648 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1952 | #3,741 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1950 | #3,693 | 5 | 0.0003% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Ainsley Shapes Your Personality and Life?
Powerful and complete. You are good intellectually and require several outlets for your energies. You are not a builder but a planner, and you want others to carry out your plans. You are bold, independent, inquisitive and interested in research. You know what you want and why you want it.
Dependable, very down-to-earth and well grounded, you are always looking for meaningful work, a career where you can take pride in your work and do the best job you are capable of. Your prime desire is to build protected and secure environment at home and at work. You can be very persuasive in achieving goals and gaining objectives. You can be very detailed and well-organized and possess great organizational skills. At times you may appear too stubborn and overly critical to others, but your practical approach to life and productivity makes you one of the most beneficent members of community.
✦ Ainsley's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Ainsley's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.