boy's name
Nash
NASH
- Origin English
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 1
- Letters 4
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 26,630
the United States
#255
2025 births
Nash is a boy's name of English origin meaning "at the ash tree". It formed by a slip of the ear: the medieval phrase atten ash was misdivided as at Nash, and the stray N stuck to the tree and became the name.
- Nash is a name of English origin.
- Peaked in 2021, when 1,607 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 2,427 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1910.
- 1 syllable, with the stress on syllable 1.
Nash over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1910s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1910s | 84 |
| 1920s | 158 |
| 1930s | 114 |
| 1940s | 115 |
| 1950s | 112 |
| 1960s | 62 |
| 1970s | 145 |
| 1980s | 298 |
| 1990s | 1,084 |
| 2000s | 2,376 |
| 2010s | 9,302 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 8,733 |
What Nash means
Nash means someone who lived by an ash tree. The N at the front does not belong to the word at all — it broke off the old preposition atten, meaning at the, and attached itself to ash permanently.
Where Nash comes from
Nash is a topographic surname from the Middle English phrase atten ash, at the ash tree, where atten is a worn-down form of the Old English aet thaem. Spoken quickly, the boundary between the two words moved, and atten ash became a Nash — a process linguists call rebracketing, and the same one that turned a napron into an apron and an ewt into a newt. Several English surnames were made this way, including Nock and Noakes from atten oak. Ash trees marked boundaries and meeting places in English settlements, which is why so many surnames point at them. First-name use is modern and mostly American.
Nash in use
Nash peaked in 2021 and charts in only four of the seven countries we track.
How popular is Nash?
In 2025, Nash was given to 1,366 babies in the United States, ranking #255 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Nash is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Nash
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Nash also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Nash over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Nash in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Nash
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Nash — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Nash
What does the name Nash mean?
At the ash tree. The N came from the old preposition atten and attached itself to the tree by mistake.
Where does the surname Nash come from?
From the Middle English atten ash, meaning at the ash tree — a topographic name for someone who lived beside one.
Is Nash a boy's or a girl's name?
It is given almost entirely to boys.
How popular is the name Nash?
In 2025, Nash was given to 1,366 babies in the United States, ranking #255 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
How many syllables are in Nash?
Nash has 1 syllable.
When was Nash most popular?
Nash peaked in 2021, when 1,607 babies were given the name. It has been rising over the past decade.
Is Nash a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Nash currently ranks #134 in the United States. It has been rising over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.