Browse Names - Behind the Name

Ash m & f English
Short form of Ashley. It can also come directly from the English word denoting either the tree or the residue of fire.

Ashanti f & m Various
From the name of an African people who reside in southern Ghana. It possibly means "warlike" in the Twi language.

Ashley f & m English
From an English surname that was originally derived from place names meaning "ash tree clearing", from a combination of Old English æsc and leah. Until the 1960s it was more commonly given to boys in the United States, but it is now most often used on girls. It reached its height of popularity in America in 1987, but it did not become the highest ranked name until 1991, being overshadowed by the likewise-popular Jessica until then. In the United Kingdom it is still more common as a masculine name.

Ashraf m & f Arabic, Persian, Urdu, Malay
Means "nobler, more illustrious" in Arabic (a superlative form of Sharif). As a Persian name it is typically feminine.

Ashton m & f English (Modern)
From an English surname, itself derived from a place name meaning "ash tree town" in Old English. This was a rare masculine name until the 1980s, when it gradually began becoming more common for both genders. Inspired by the female character Ashton Main from the 1985 miniseries North and South, parents in America gave it more frequently to girls than boys from 1986 to 1997. Since then it has been overwhelmingly masculine once again, perhaps due in part to the fame of the actor Ashton Kutcher (1978-).

Ashtyn f & m English (Modern)
Variant of Ashton.

LaShawn f & m African American
Combination of the popular prefix la with the name Shawn.

Munashe m & f Shona
Means "with God" in Shona, derived from ishe meaning "lord, God".

Rashmi f & m Hindi, Marathi, Kannada, Telugu, Tamil
From Sanskrit रश्मि (raśmi) meaning "ray of sunlight, rope, cord".

Sasha m & f Russian, Ukrainian, English, French
Russian and Ukrainian diminutive of Aleksandr or Aleksandra.

Sashi m & f Kannada
Alternate transcription of Kannada ಶಶಿ (see Shashi).

Shashi m & f Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Kannada, Telugu
Traditional name for the moon, it literally means "having a hare" in Sanskrit. This is a transcription of both the masculine form शशि and the feminine form शशी (spelled with a long final vowel).

Tashi m & f Tibetan, Bhutanese
Means "good fortune" in Tibetan.

Tinashe m & f Shona
Means "we are with God", from Shona ti "we", na "with" and ishe "lord, God".

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name impressions are based on the ratings left by the behindthename.com community
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