girl's name
Paisley
PAYZ-lee
- Origin Scottish
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 2
- Letters 7
- Popularity Top 100 (US)
- Births on record 73,868
the United States
#67
2025 births
Paisley is a girl's name taken from the Scottish town, whose weavers gave their name to the swirling teardrop pattern. The town's own name most likely derives from a Latin or Brittonic word for a church, making the meaning at two removes ecclesiastical.
- Paisley is a name of Scottish origin.
- Peaked in 2015, when 5,091 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 944 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1966.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Paisley over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1960s 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 |
|---|---|
| 1960s | 25 |
| 1970s | 57 |
| 1980s | 156 |
| 1990s | 654 |
| 2000s | 3,349 |
| 2010s | 37,638 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 23,577 |
What Paisley means
Paisley is generally glossed as church, from the probable origin of the town's name, though the name reaches most people through the textile pattern rather than the place. The pattern itself is Persian in origin — Paisley only mass-produced it.
Where Paisley comes from
Paisley is a town near Glasgow whose name is usually derived from the Latin basilica or a related Brittonic word, meaning a major church — plausible given the twelfth-century abbey there. Its lasting fame is industrial: from the early nineteenth century Paisley's mills mass-produced shawls carrying a curved teardrop motif imported from Kashmir, and the pattern took the town's name in English even though its design origin is Persian, where it is called boteh. As a given name Paisley is recent and largely American, and it reaches almost everyone through the fabric rather than the place or the church.
Paisley in use
The paisley pattern is Persian in origin; the Scottish town simply made it in enough volume to take the credit.
How popular is Paisley?
In 2025, Paisley was given to 3,513 babies in the United States, ranking #67 that year. It is one of the most popular names in the United States.
Where Paisley 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 Paisley
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Paisley also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Paisley over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Paisley 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 Paisley
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Paisley — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Paisley
What does the name Paisley mean?
It is usually glossed as "church," from the probable origin of the Scottish town's name.
Is Paisley named after the pattern?
The pattern is named after the town, whose mills mass-produced it; the design itself is Persian.
Where is Paisley?
A town near Glasgow in Scotland, known for its twelfth-century abbey and its textile mills.
How popular is the name Paisley?
In 2025, Paisley was given to 3,513 babies in the United States, ranking #67 that year. It is one of the most popular names in the United States.
Is Paisley a girl's or a boy's name?
Paisley is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Paisley?
Paisley has 2 syllables.
When was Paisley most popular?
Paisley peaked in 2015, when 5,091 babies were given the name. It has been rising over the past decade.
Is Paisley a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Paisley currently ranks #67 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.