(no subject)

[jessiac.livejournal.com]

I am quite interested about the issue of the name Ashley. I have always considered Ashley to be a predominately male name - I know couple of (male) Ashleys, and I always think of the Premiership footballer (soccer player) Ashley Cole whenever I hear the name! Is it really that popular a girl's name in the US?

Using the unscientific method of searching on google I found that:

Searching for the name 'Ashley' just in the UK returned, on the first three pages, the name 'Ashley' clearly as a forename in approximately 6 cases, all male. The other results did not mention the gender of the person.

Performing the same search, but excluding domains .uk, I found that the name Ashley appeared as a female name 6 times (twice for the same person, Ashley Judd), definitively, out of three pages, and once as a male name.

So my question is, why is there a difference at all between the designation of Ashley as a male and female name in the UK and the US? And is it that pronounced?

Comments

[rockstargrrrlie.livejournal.com]

I think that Ashley became a female name in the US when names ending in the -ey sound started to become more common for girls, starting in the 50's with Leslie, and then becoming more common in the eighties with Kelly, Courtney, Lindsay, etc. Ashley seems to have just followed up on that trend, and then became a hit for girls in the US.

It's a shame, because I think it's such a great name for a boy, with a perfect nickname, and the only thing that would stop me from naming my son that is the overwhelming popularity it has as a girl's name.

xoxoxo Michelle

[jessiac.livejournal.com]

My (male) cousin is called Courtney. He had a British mother who moved the entire family to the US. I feel for him ;-).

I think that I prefer Ashley as a middle name. I'd be worried that the popularity of the name in the US would influence the name use over here. But the nickname *is* really cool..