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Dated, Prissy

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Growing up, the name was really prissy. All Ashley's I knew were bullies and holier-than-thou. They were also all born in the 80's. As I get older, the Ashley's I have known are sweet. But, I just can't get over my previous association with it. If it were in a sibset it would be:

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Tiffany
Ashley
Stephanie

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Thats the "type" of name I see with it.

It's not a name I would use, but I prefer it on a boy.

This message was edited 1/1/2014, 5:05 PM

It's a boys name where I'm from (the UK) and is quite dated to the 90s, maybe also late 80s. I'm not a fan of it on either gender.

I had never heard of this name until the very early '80s. I was reading a list of popular names and found Ashley, for a girl. I was astounded, because not only had I never heard of it, but here it was, a very popular name. At the time it just sounded strange. Now I've gotten used to it, of course. Still, it has a babyish twinge to it, probably because of the -ee sound at the end.

It's my favorite name on a boy, but I find it extremely tired on a girl. I'm really glad the girl's name is falling from popularity so quickly, because it is so 80s/90s dated.

This is my second favorite girls' name, and it was very nearly an even contender for Valerie's name; we didn't actually decide for sure till shortly before she was born.
I too prefer it on a girl. I know of one male Ashley, he's my husband's age and they went to school together. Nobody in the class knew that Ashley was his name till graduation rehearsal, I think, because he went by Matt, which was short for his middle name Matthew. There were no female Ashleys in that graduating class so evidently it was not a popular girls' name at the time and place he was born, but he was always called Matt.

Boring, outdated and way too popular for a girl.

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Nice for a boy though.

This is one of those names that I have trouble separating from its popularity. I've known a bazillion female Ashleys, one of them my son's girlfriend. So when I hear it, I think, "Oh, another Ashley *eyeroll*" and that's about it.

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Okay, let me try. Back in the mid 1970s, I used to babysit for a little girl named Ashley who was then four years old. So she was born around 1970 and would be in her early to mid-forties now. Back then, it wasn't so popular, her parents were among the forerunners in using it for a girl. She was the first Ashley I'd ever known. Okay, so what did I think back then about her name? I think that I thought it was a boy's name, but feminine-enough sounding for a girl, but not feminine-enough sounding for me personally. I felt the same way about her little sister's name, Whitney. So I think that's my opinion on Ashley, breaking it as free as possible from its massive popularity.

This name is such a yawn for me. I've just known so many of them and there was never any consistent line of feelings toward them, it's dull. It's not horrid, but there's nothing special about it either. I like it better for a boy, as I do most -ley names, but it's just not inspiring to me either way.