Unisex name ★ peaked 2004

Ashton

Meaning ash (tree species) Gender Unisex · 18% girls Rank 2025 #197 Trend ↓ Falling 28%

From Old English æsc (“ash (tree species)”) + tūn (“enclosure, settlement”).

Rank 2025
#197
among boys · ↓9 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
1,886
named Ashton · -10% vs 2024
How common
1 in 948
boys born in 2025
Peak year
2004
5,847 babies
All-time total
107,927
#340 all-time among boys
First recorded
1881
in Social Security records

Ashton popularity over time

107,927 babies have been named Ashton since 1881, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
0.751.52.25318801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
BoysGirls

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s – 12 12 1 – #790
1890s – 25 25 3 +108% #855
1900s – 36 36 4 +44% #867
1910s – 193 193 19 +436% #1,184
1920s – 248 248 25 +28% #1,197
1930s – 190 190 19 -23% #1,430
1940s – 164 164 16 -14% #1,537
1950s – 158 158 16 -4% #1,584
1960s – 145 145 15 -8% #1,702
1970s 14 323 337 34 +132% #1,128
1980s 3,610 2,160 5,770 577 +1612% #403
1990s 8,689 7,950 16,639 1,664 +188% #278
2000s 4,781 32,450 37,231 3,723 +124% #76
2010s 1,841 30,220 32,061 3,206 -14% #109
2020s (to 2025) 725 13,993 14,718 2,453 -23% #136

Where Ashton is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 boys (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 boys Implied rank
2026 1,702 1.00 #206
2027 1,621 0.95 #223
2028 1,556 0.91 #228
2029 1,503 0.88 #235
2030 1,459 0.85 #242

Where Ashton is most popular

Boys named Ashton per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 1.31 per 1,000. Strongest in Mississippi, West Virginia, and District of Columbia.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are boys named Ashton born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Boys 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Mississippi 229 4.03 +209%
West Virginia 92 2.82 +116%
District of Columbia 41 2.78 +113%
Louisiana 266 2.60 +99%
Georgia 627 2.48 +89%
Delaware 37 2.44 +87%
South Carolina 252 2.44 +87%
New Hampshire 53 2.39 +83%
Alaska 27 2.27 +74%
Alabama 241 2.20 +69%
Michigan 423 2.07 +58%
Maryland 242 2.03 +55%
Kentucky 200 1.99 +53%
North Carolina 502 1.97 +51%
Wisconsin 224 1.89 +45%
Hawaii 29 1.87 +43%
Ohio 493 1.86 +42%
South Dakota 33 1.77 +36%
Montana 31 1.76 +35%
Indiana 278 1.73 +33%
Pennsylvania 456 1.72 +31%
Connecticut 115 1.70 +30%
Tennessee 304 1.68 +29%
Florida 793 1.67 +28%
Virginia 312 1.64 +26%
North Dakota 28 1.64 +26%
Nevada 93 1.63 +25%
Illinois 405 1.58 +21%
Maine 30 1.55 +18%
Arkansas 96 1.52 +16%
Missouri 210 1.52 +16%
New York 634 1.46 +12%
Idaho 58 1.42 +9%
Oregon 107 1.41 +8%
Nebraska 61 1.40 +7%
New Mexico 44 1.34 ≈ national
Iowa 89 1.29 ≈ national
Colorado 157 1.22 -7%
Wyoming 7 1.21 -7%
Minnesota 145 1.18 -10%
New Jersey 235 1.17 -11%
Washington 188 1.15 -12%
Kansas 76 1.11 -15%
Massachusetts 152 1.11 -15%
Utah 105 1.10 -16%
Texas 958 1.09 -17%
Arizona 175 1.07 -18%
Oklahoma 92 1.04 -20%
Vermont 6 0.955 -27%
California 770 0.842 -36%
Rhode Island 5 0.307 -77%

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Ashton

Ashton is moderately common for boys in the United States, ranked #197 in 2025 with 1,801 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1881, 107,927 American babies have been named Ashton, about 82% boys and 18% girls, making it a genuinely unisex name. Its peak came in 2004, when 5,847 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2000s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Ashton stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Ashton?

The median living Ashton is about 17 years old; half are between 9 and 24. An estimated 106 thousand people named Ashton are alive in the United States today.

median 17 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Ashton year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 85 #2,173 1,801 #197
2024 114 #1,771 1,978 #188
2023 117 #1,751 2,344 #156
2022 120 #1,733 2,613 #145
2021 137 #1,533 2,545 #148
2020 152 #1,433 2,712 #136
2019 141 #1,530 3,048 #125
2018 173 #1,315 3,056 #128
2017 194 #1,233 2,955 #138
2016 197 #1,236 3,102 #133
2015 192 #1,266 3,024 #141
2014 167 #1,382 2,819 #143
2013 189 #1,260 2,620 #152
2012 173 #1,352 2,814 #142
2011 234 #1,054 3,548 #109
2010 181 #1,299 3,234 #127
2009 223 #1,134 3,569 #115
2008 229 #1,126 3,518 #122
2007 231 #1,122 3,381 #124
2006 249 #1,027 3,496 #121
2005 334 #778 4,069 #107
2004 411 #666 5,436 #76
2003 631 #472 4,215 #101
2002 782 #378 1,853 #200
2001 823 #361 1,598 #216
2000 868 #354 1,315 #254
1995 931 #296 808 #324
1990 832 #332 637 #367
1985 129 #1,118 229 #580
1980 5 #10,515 63 #1,145
1975 – – 31 #1,632
1970 – – 25 #1,746
1965 – – 13 #2,276
1960 – – 14 #2,212
1955 – – 10 #2,576
1950 – – 10 #2,443
1945 – – 19 #1,537
1940 – – 18 #1,631
1935 – – 18 #1,659
1930 – – 21 #1,602
1925 – – 25 #1,498
1920 – – 29 #1,348
1915 – – 30 #1,184
1910 – – – –
1905 – – – –
1900 – – 6 #1,175
1895 – – – –
1890 – – – –
1885 – – – –
1880 – – – –

Famous people named Ashton

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Ashton Kutcher Ashton Kutcher American actor (born 1978) Contemporary
  2. 2 Ashton Sanders Ashton Sanders American actor (b. 1995) Contemporary
  3. 3 Ashton Holmes Ashton Holmes American actor b. 1978 · Contemporary
  4. 4 Ashton Eaton Ashton Eaton American decathlete (born 1988) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Ashton, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Ashton?

The median living Ashton is about 17 years old. Half of all living Ashtons are between 9 and 24 years old.

How many people named Ashton are alive today?

An estimated 106 thousand people named Ashton are alive in the United States, based on 107,927 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Ashton mean?

From Old English æsc (“ash (tree species)”) + tūn (“enclosure, settlement”).

How popular is the name Ashton in 2025?

Ashton ranked #197 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 1,801 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Ashton?

107,927 babies have been named Ashton in the United States since 1881, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Ashton most popular?

Ashton peaked in 2004, when 5,847 newborns received the name.

Is Ashton a boy or girl name?

Ashton is used for both: about 18% of babies named Ashton have been girls and 82% boys.

Is the name Ashton rising or falling?

Ashton is declining, less popular now than a decade ago.

Will Ashton become more popular?

Ashton is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 1,459 boys named Ashton in 2030, which would rank around #242. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Ashton?

Well-known people named Ashton include Ashton Kutcher (actor), Ashton Sanders (actor), Ashton Holmes (actor).

Names like Ashton

Names that sound and feel close to Ashton: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Ashton with similar names → More names starting with A →