Paisley
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Meaning
place name, pattern
The story
Paisley traveled from a Scottish place to a fabric pattern and then to the nursery. The surname comes from the town near Glasgow, whose deeper place-name origin may reach back to Latin basilica, church, though that derivation is uncertain. The curved, teardrop-shaped textile design took the town's name because Paisley became a major center for producing the patterned shawls. Modern parents then adopted the familiar place and pattern word as a given name. The US curve is almost empty through the twentieth century, begins to register in the 2000s, climbs sharply in the 2010s, and reaches its highest point in the 2020s. That makes Paisley one of the batch's clearest current-generation names. It carries Scottish geography and textile history, but its life as a first name is strikingly new, bright, and entirely visible in the record.
How popular is Paisley around the world?
In the United States, 23,577 babies were named Paisley between 2020 and 2025.
Paisley is on the official records of the United States, Canada, England and Wales, New Zealand, Scotland, South Australia and Ireland.
United States
1 in 920
In the United States, 23,577 babies were named Paisley between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Paisley peaked in the 2020s. Paisley went to 5,091 US babies in 2015 and 3,513 in 2025, 69% of the earlier figure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Canada
1 in 1,500
In Canada, 236 girls named Paisley were born in 2024, the 107th most common name among girls 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)
England and Wales
1 in 2,800
In England and Wales, 207 girls named Paisley were born in 2025, the 226th most common name among girls 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
New Zealand
1 in 4,400
In New Zealand, 13 girls named Paisley 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
Scotland
1 in 5,700
In Scotland, 8 girls named Paisley were registered in 2024, the 384th most common name among girls 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
South Australia
1 in 6,1002017
In South Australia, 3 girls were registered as Paisley in 2017.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.
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
Ireland
1 in 14,000
In Ireland, 4 girls named Paisley were born in 2025, the 718th most common name among girls 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
Not on the record in Spain, Mexico City, Argentina, Puerto Rico and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. 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 the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Austria record for 1984 to 2025: Statistik Austria publishes every first name down to a single birth, so this name was not given there in those years (before 2010 the record covers babies with Austrian citizenship only). 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 Paisley
Most people given the name Paisley 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.
Keep exploring
Names like Paisley · Names that go with Paisley · Middle names for Paisley · Climbers and fallers
The Paisley deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Paisley 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 Paisley fits with your family’s names and surname.
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