Ashley

Ashley comes from an English surname meaning "ash tree meadow," from the Old English aesc and leah. For most of its history it belonged to boys, including Ashley Wilkes in Gone with the Wind, but the soap opera wave of the late 1970s and 1980s turned it decisively feminine. Ashley sat in the U.S. top 10 for girls from 1983 to 2002, one of the defining names of Generation Y. It has settled gracefully since, now a top 150 choice with a slightly vintage, slightly suburban charm. Two syllables, a soft sh at the center, and an easy nickname in Ash. It reads as friendly, capable, and unfussy.