Asher
Torn between Asher and another name? Compare them side by side →
Meaning
happy, blessed
The story
Asher is a Hebrew name with the senses “happy” or “blessed.” In Genesis, Zilpah gives birth to Jacob’s son and Leah names him after an exclamation of good fortune. The child becomes the named ancestor of one of Israel’s twelve tribes in the biblical account. Joshua assigns Asher territory from the western Galilean hills toward the Mediterranean.
A documented medieval bearer is Rabbi Asher ben Jehiel, whose life connected German Jewish learning with Toledo in Spain. He wrote decisions on Jewish law and commentary on the Talmud, the central collection of rabbinic discussion and teaching. Later legal writers drew on his rulings. He is often called the Rosh, an abbreviation of his name and title.
Jewish use of Asher long predates its recent increase in American birth records. Social Security records counted 787 boys named Asher in the 1980s and 48,557 in the completed 2010s.
Chaim Potok’s novel My Name Is Asher Lev gives the name another Jewish cultural association. Its young artist grows up in postwar Brooklyn among Hasidic Jews, who follow a branch of Orthodox Judaism. His artistic work brings him into conflict with his family and the religious obligations of his community.
How popular is Asher around the world?
In the United States, 48,519 babies were named Asher between 2020 and 2025.
Asher is on the official records of the United States, South Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Puerto Rico, New South Wales, Scotland, England and Wales, Mexico City, Ireland, Argentina, Chile, Austria, France, Spain and Brazil.
Asher crosses languages: it is in the latest top 300 of an English-speaking birth record and of a Spanish-speaking one. The full list: English and Spanish
United States
1 in 450
In the United States, 48,519 babies were named Asher between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Asher peaked in the 2020s.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
South Australia
1 in 5002017
In South Australia, 31 boys were registered as Asher in 2017.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
New Zealand
1 in 690
In New Zealand, 84 boys named Asher were registered in 2025.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
Canada
1 in 740
In Canada, 490 boys named Asher were born in 2024, the 47th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
Puerto Rico
1 in 1,100
In Puerto Rico, 17 babies were named Asher in 2025, and 67 have carried the name since 1998.
share of that year’s births on record
First given name only, from Social Security records of births in Puerto Rico; any name-sex-year under 5 births is withheld at source. Shares divide by the Puerto Rico Demographic Registry’s count of births on the island; the 2025 count is provisional. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, territory name file (Puerto Rico)
New South Wales
#88 · 2025
In New South Wales, 98 boys named Asher were registered in 2025, ranked 88th in that year’s top 100 for boys.
share of that year’s top-100 registrations
New South Wales (not all of Australia) publishes only each year’s 100 most popular names per sex, so a missing year means below that top 100, not rare. Source: NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, popular baby names
Scotland
1 in 1,600
In Scotland, 29 boys named Asher were registered in 2024, the 155th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
England and Wales
1 in 1,600
In England and Wales, 360 boys named Asher were born in 2025, the 150th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Mexico City City
1 in 2,400
In Mexico City, there were 48 registrations of Asher in 2022.
share of that year’s registrations in the city
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023 (1 registration through 3 Mar) is excluded as partial. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Ireland
1 in 2,500
In Ireland, 22 boys named Asher were born in 2025, the 211th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
Argentina
1 in 10,000
In Argentina, 64 newborns were given the name Asher in 2024.
share of that year’s name registrations
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
Chile
1 in 14,000
In Chile, 13 boys were registered as Asher in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.
share of that year’s name registrations
First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021
Austria
1 in 19,000
In Austria, 4 boys named Asher were born in 2025, the 827th most common name among boys that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
The count never rose above 5 in a year, too few to chart.
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
France
1 in 26,000
In France, about 25 boys named Asher were born in 2025, ranked 1,387th among boys that year.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)
Spain
1 in 200,000
In Spain, 226 residents are named Asher, ranked 4,212th among men, with a mean age of 8.3 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
Brazil
1 in 1M
At the 2022 census, 128 people in Brazil were named Asher, ranked 34,648th, with a median age of 3.
Among people named Asher living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 2010s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
The census also counted 76 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart. People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
Poland
last on record 2024
Asher is not on the 2025 record for Poland, where names given fewer than 2 times in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.
First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)
Not on the Montevideo record for 1940 to 2011: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years. Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Asher
Most people given the name Asher in the United States are children or teenagers today. The name belongs to this generation.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Where Asher travels
Jewish American · a beloved tribal name enjoying a strong modern revival
Keep exploring
Names like Asher · Names that go with Asher · Middle names for Asher · Jewish American baby names · Hebrew baby names · Nickname-proof names
The Asher deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Asher truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Asher fits with your family’s names and surname.
Questions about Asher
What middle names go with Asher?
Isaiah (3 beats to Asher's 2, so the pair keeps its rhythm), Abisai (4 beats to Asher's 2, so the pair keeps its rhythm), and Johnathan (3 beats to Asher's 2, so the pair keeps its rhythm). The full list, each pairing with its reason, is on the middle names page for Asher.
Is Asher too popular right now?
Asher is popular right now, without being everywhere and still rising. In US Social Security records since 1890, its score for the 2020s is 6 out of 10, up from 1 in the 2000s. The 2020s are its peak so far. Before the 2000s it appears in 10 of the 11 decades of the published lists, which carry a name only once at least five boys a year receive it, with a high of 1,705 boys in the 1990s.
Does Asher fit YOUR family?
nametree reads your family’s names and finds the ones that belong. Free, private, no ads.
Add Asher to your family’s tree →