# Paisley (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/paisley/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | girls |
| Origin | not recorded |
| Meaning | “pasture” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈpeɪzli/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 65,456 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 87 / 65,369 (100% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 3,695, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

From Scottish Gaelic Pàislig (“pasture”). Despite occasional respellings such as Paisleigh, this word does not etymologically contain the suffix -ley/-leigh.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 1,644 | 194 |
| 2012 | 2,924 | 104 |
| 2013 | 3,607 | 80 |
| 2014 | 4,501 | 53 |
| 2015 | 5,091 | 45 |
| 2016 | 4,883 | 46 |
| 2017 | 4,958 | 45 |
| 2018 | 4,366 | 52 |
| 2019 | 4,280 | 53 |
| 2020 | 4,380 | 49 |
| 2021 | 4,299 | 52 |
| 2022 | 4,056 | 53 |
| 2023 | 3,749 | 56 |
| 2024 | 3,554 | 61 |
| 2025 | 3,508 | 67 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 11 | 7,370 |
| 2013 | 7 | 10,442 |
| 2014 | 6 | 11,762 |
| 2016 | 5 | 13,676 |
| 2017 | 12 | 7,000 |
| 2018 | 8 | 9,442 |
| 2019 | 7 | 10,531 |
| 2020 | 9 | 8,557 |
| 2021 | 6 | 11,780 |
| 2023 | 5 | 13,648 |
| 2024 | 6 | 11,977 |
| 2025 | 5 | 13,390 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 28 | 1,168 |
| 2012 | 39 | 934 |
| 2013 | 49 | 784 |
| 2014 | 70 | 589 |
| 2015 | 119 | 384 |
| 2016 | 348 | 161 |
| 2017 | 369 | 147 |
| 2018 | 313 | 171 |
| 2019 | 332 | 152 |
| 2020 | 349 | 146 |
| 2021 | 330 | 157 |
| 2022 | 296 | 172 |
| 2023 | 258 | 192 |
| 2024 | 205 | 234 |
| 2025 | 207 | 226 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 3 | 3,849 |
| 2006 | 4 | 3,385 |
| 2007 | 3 | 4,333 |
| 2009 | 6 | 2,837 |
| 2010 | 3 | 4,678 |
| 2011 | 5 | 3,300 |
| 2012 | 3 | 4,805 |
| 2014 | 3 | 4,632 |
| 2015 | 3 | 4,747 |
| 2016 | 5 | 3,478 |
| 2017 | 8 | 2,512 |
| 2019 | 5 | 3,411 |
| 2021 | 4 | 3,990 |
| 2022 | 3 | 4,789 |
| 2024 | 4 | 4,270 |

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.