Ashley
Ashley comes from the Old English "æsc" (ash tree) and "leah" (meadow, clearing). It began as a surname referring to someone who lived near an ash-tree meadow, then became a male first name. For most of its history, Ashley was used for boys — Ashley Wilkes in "Gone with the Wind" (1936) is unmistakably male. Then the name crossed gender. Ashley entered the US girl-name top 1000 in 1964 and rocketed to #1 in 1991, holding it briefly. It was the dominant girl name of the late 1980s and early 1990s, the way Jennifer had been twenty years earlier. The crossover was so complete that Ashley for boys is now rare. Ashley Judd and Ashley Olsen are the most visible modern bearers. I think Ashley's appeal is its sound — the "ash" has a slightly melancholy, autumnal quality, and the "lee" ending is soft and approachable. It also benefits from being a place name, which gives it geographic grounding. But its late-80s peak means it now reads as generational rather than timeless. Ashley is a unisex name of English (place name) origin that means "Ash tree meadow". Approachable, capable, and slightly 90s. The name sounds friendly. Ashleys tend to be social and adaptable. US #1 for girls in 1991. Now around #150. Well-known people named Ashley include Ashley Judd (actress), Ashley Olsen (actress/designer), Ashley Wilkes (fictional, GWTW), Ashley Cole (footballer, male). Common variations and related forms of Ashley include Ashlee (modern spelling), Ashleigh (English spelling), Ashly (simplified), Ash (short form).