Ainsley is a Scottish surname taken from English place names such as Annesley, of uncertain meaning but usually explained as "solitary clearing" or "hermitage meadow", from Old English anne and leah. It was used for boys in Scotland for centuries, but in America it is almost entirely a girls' name. Ainsley entered the US top 1000 in 2001 and peaked at number 332 in 2013; after slipping to number 704 in 2024 it jumped back to number 483 in 2025.