Given name & surname · also Old English
Ainsley
“one's own meadow”
Ainsley is used as a given name and a surname. One Scottish interpretation is “one's own meadow.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Scottish interpretation is “one's own meadow.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Old English.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1950. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Ainsley through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 20,896
- 426 boys · 20,470 girls
- Most popular year
- 2014
- 1,013 babies
- 2025
- 629
- #483 for girls · #8,935 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −28%
- Easing
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 621 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 483 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 28.5% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 1,001 in 2014. It also appeared in 8 birth records for boys in 2025. In 2025, Texas had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (56). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 16,841 as a first name in 2020; 720 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Ainsley’s family of names
Ainsley has a related form in Ainslee. Ainsley has a related form in Ainslie. Ainsley has a related form in Aynsley.
The ring: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 17
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
People named Ainsley
- Ainsley Maitland-NilesEnglish association football playerborn 1997
- Ainsley HarriottBritish cook, television personality, authorborn 1957
- Ainsley BennettBritish sprinterborn 1954
- Ainsley ThorpeNew Zealand triathleteborn 1998
- Ainsley EarhardtAmerican television host and author (born 1975/1976)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Ainsley, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Hadley
“from the field of heather” · “from the heather meadow”
1% boys · 99% girls
Daisy
“of the day's eye; resembling a flower”
>99% girls
Harley
“from the meadow of the hares”
20% boys · 80% girls
Presley
“of the priest's town” · “from the priest's meadow”
7% boys · 93% girls
Sydney
“of the wide meadow”
2% boys · 98% girls
Marley
“from the meadow near the lake”
13% boys · 87% girls
India
“from the river; woman from India”
>99% girls
Aileen
“light-bearer” · “from the green meadow”
>99% girls