Nash
Nash was the 255th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 1,357 babies. Its best year was 2021, when it ranked 233rd with 1,588 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved up 90 places. More babies were named Nash in the 2010s than in any other decade.
Meaning at the ash tree (surname) · English
Say it NASH /næʃ/
- Rank in 2025
- #255 boys, down 15 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 1,357boys
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a boy’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 20211,588 babies
- Total since 1880
- 22,583babies recorded
What does the name Nash mean?
Nash is an English, Welsh and Irish surname. Wikipedia explains that it developed from Ash, through a phrase like 'atten ash', 'at the ash tree', so it first named someone who lived by an ash tree. Wiktionary has no etymology for it. Wikipedia also mentions a proposed origin as an Americanization of similar-sounding Jewish surnames. As a boy's first name it is a recent transfer from the surname.
æsc (Old English, “ash tree”)atten (Middle English, “at the”)
How sure is this? Probable. The 'at the ash' derivation comes from one encyclopedia source; a surname dictionary check is needed.
Related names: Ash.
See also: English names, names that mean tree.
Sources for this meaning
- Wikipedia, 'Nash (surname)', Wikipedia (Wikimedia Foundation); facts restated, no text reused
- Wikipedia, 'Nash (given name)', Wikipedia (Wikimedia Foundation); facts restated, no text reused
Nash popularity since 1880
A few girls are given the name too: 144 since 1989, 9 in 2025.
| Year | Rank (boys) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #255 | 1,357 |
| 2020 | #240 | 1,500 |
| 2010 | #613 | 404 |
| 2000 | #920 | 168 |
| 1990 | #1,367 | 67 |
| 1980 | #2,341 | 22 |
| 1970 | #2,833 | 12 |
| 1960 | #2,807 | 10 |
| 1950 | #2,000 | 15 |
| 1940 | #2,619 | 9 |
| 1930 | #1,871 | 17 |
| 1920 | #1,939 | 18 |
| 1910 | #1,772 | 5 |
| 1900 | — | — |
| 1890 | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Nash, counting every spelling?
Nash has no other common spelling that sounds the same. Counting every name's spellings together, it ranks #270 for boys in 2025, against #255 on the official list, because Kayson/Kaison/Kaysen and Eric/Erick/Erik and Kash/Cash/Cache move ahead once their spellings are combined.
How many kids will share the name Nash?
1,357 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Nash (0.38 per 1,000 births). For a boy named Nash born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 6 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Nash.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Nash?
About 21,700 people born in the US named Nash are alive today, with a median age of 8; half are between 4 and 13. That makes Nash a young name: most people with it are children.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Nash by state
How common Nash was among boys born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in North Dakota (4.3×), South Dakota (4.0×), West Virginia (3.2×), Montana (3.1×), Iowa (2.9×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in New Jersey, Hawaii, California.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Nash: their share of US boys followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Nash, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Nash · Sibling names for Nash
Questions about the name Nash
What does Nash mean?
Nash means “at the ash tree (surname)” (English origin). Certainty: probable.
How popular is the name Nash?
Nash was the 255th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 1,357 babies. Its best year was 2021, when it ranked 233rd with 1,588 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved up 90 places. More babies were named Nash in the 2010s than in any other decade.
Is Nash a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a boy’s name given the name Nash in the US.
Where is Nash most popular?
In 2021–2025, Nash was most common in North Dakota (3.57 per 1,000 boys), followed by South Dakota and West Virginia.