Ashley, it’s a beautiful name that just rolls right off the tongue, right? Well, I may be a bit biased considering that Ashley is my name. The denomination derived from Old England and was originally solely a male name. It means “meadow, forest clearing,” and as angelic and beautiful as the name sounds, there are some annoyances associated with the name…

1. If you are in a crowded place, there is bound to be another Ashley, which creates confusion.

2. As a schoolgirl, there was typically another Ashley in the class, and the teacher had to tack on your last initial to your name.

This first name plus last initial became your identity, and if another Ashley had the same first letter of her name, then even more aggravation existed.

3. In the media, the mean girl is usually portrayed as Ashley.

4. When people are saying, “actually,” you think that they’re saying “Ashley.”

5. The show Recess featured a group of girls all named Ashley, which caused even more chaos in terms of distinguishing who is who.

6. The childhood song, Ring Around the Rosy, has a part that goes “Ashes, Ashes, we all fall down,” and a person named Ash doesn’t exactly want to hear that they’re going to fall down.

7. If you are in a friend group with another Ashley, you sometimes end up being called by your last name instead of your first name to differentiate between you and the other person.

8. Even with how common your name is, there are surprisingly not a lot of songs with your name in it.

9. There are way too many spellings of your name, but you know that A-S-H-L-E-Y is the best one.

10. People will occasionally call you Ashton or Ashlyn.

11. Ashes are associated with your name, and you fear fires.

The name “Ashley” sucks at times, but it also rules. It’s a name that makes me feel empowered. While there are negative connotations correlated with my name, there are also positive ones. I am proud to be an Ashley, and I hope that you are, too!