New Post
Search
Help[Facts] Is there a reason why Ashley "switched" genders?
Here in the UK, Ashley is most commonly a male name. I know at least 5 male Ashleys but not a single female one. However, in the US and most other countries, Ashley is predominantly a female name.
I was just wondering if there was an event, film, book or something which caused the "switch" from male to female for the name Ashley in the US and elsewhere. Also does anyone know why Ashley is still mostly male in the UK?
**Emma**
http://www.behindthename.com/pnl/54547
Favourites: Eve, Alice, Norah, Isla // George, Charlie, Arthur, Oscar
I was just wondering if there was an event, film, book or something which caused the "switch" from male to female for the name Ashley in the US and elsewhere. Also does anyone know why Ashley is still mostly male in the UK?
**Emma**
http://www.behindthename.com/pnl/54547
Favourites: Eve, Alice, Norah, Isla // George, Charlie, Arthur, Oscar
1
Replies
Like many other names that started out as surnames (Kimberly, Beverley, Ashley etc.), and other originally masculine names that became feminized (Valery, Jody, Jamie etc.) it's simply because the final |i:| sound became perceived as a feminine indicator in English. Other surnames that first moved to masculine first names (such as Evelyn) have suffered a similar fate, for slightly different reasons. Its been happening for thousands of years, especially as names cross linguistic boundaries in time or location and new users are not aware that their pretty feminine name was actually a masculine name in origin.
1
1
Did you already have a look at this nice graph on this website?
http://www.behindthename.com/name/ashley/top/united-states
Of course it does not answer the question, but I think it narrows the question down to: Why did the US female Ashley start its strong rise somewhere between 1960 and 1970?
As you can see, the US male Ashley was present as far back as the stats go, albeit on a low and nearly constant level.
http://www.behindthename.com/name/ashley/top/united-states
Of course it does not answer the question, but I think it narrows the question down to: Why did the US female Ashley start its strong rise somewhere between 1960 and 1970?
As you can see, the US male Ashley was present as far back as the stats go, albeit on a low and nearly constant level.
1
Wikipedia seems to think the steep US rise was due to a female character called Ashley in a soap opera, 'The Young and the Restless', in 1982:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashley_(name)
eta: earlier female Ashleys may just have been due to a general rise in surname-names on girls in the US.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashley_(name)
eta: earlier female Ashleys may just have been due to a general rise in surname-names on girls in the US.
This message was edited 11/16/2016, 3:58 AM
1
No idea, though originally the name was Aescleah and was a female name in Old English, so it was definitely female originally.
1
Naw,
the correct derivation of Ashley is already on this site, see also for the original place name here: http://surnames.behindthename.com/name/ashley
--elbowinhttp://surnames.behindthename.com/name/ashley
the correct derivation of Ashley is already on this site, see also for the original place name here: http://surnames.behindthename.com/name/ashley
--elbowinhttp://surnames.behindthename.com/name/ashley
1