| Amanda | Ashley | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Worthy of love | — |
| Origin | latin | — |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | uh-MAN-duh | — |
| Syllables | 3 | — |
| First appeared | 1880 | 1917 |
| Peak year | 1987 (41,786) | 1987 (54,856) |
| In 2025 | 601 | 1,829 |
| Trend | Declining | Declining |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Amanda | Ashley |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 3,904 | 11,626 |
| 2010s | 11,081 | 37,237 |
| 2000s | 46,660 | 133,051 |
| 1990s | 191,132 | 301,820 |
| 1980s | 369,727 | 352,185 |
| 1970s | 123,920 | 21,053 |
| 1960s | 17,176 | 2,566 |
| 1950s | 5,471 | 221 |
| 1940s | 2,759 | 86 |
| 1930s | 1,965 | 7 |
| 1920s | 3,125 | 0 |
| 1910s | 3,643 | 5 |
| 1900s | 2,923 | 0 |
| 1890s | 3,872 | 0 |
| 1880s | 3,280 | 0 |
A literary coinage from the Latin gerundive amanda, 'lovable, worthy of love, deserving to be loved', from amare 'to love'. Built directly on the root am-.
Ashley is an English name from Old English æsc (“ash tree”) and lēah (“wood, clearing”) — “ash-tree meadow.” It began as a place name and surname and was originally a boy’s name before becoming chiefly female in the United States.
Ashley is more popular than Amanda today: about 1,829 US babies were given the name Ashley in 2025, compared with 601 named Amanda.
In US records, Amanda first appears in 1880 and Ashley in 1917, so Amanda has the longer recorded history.