Girl's name
Paisley
Say it PAYZ-lee
Scottish Gaelic origin pasture
2 syllables
Where Paisley is loved, common and rare
Common in Queensland. Rare in Canada, Britain and Ireland.
1 in 1,224 girls born in England and Wales in 2025
Ontario 103rdBritish Columbia 121stEngland and Wales 226th
LovedCommonRare
Every place
In 7 of the 40 official lists, among them Ontario (103rd), British Columbia (121st) and England and Wales (226th).
Show all 7 placesShow less
| Place | Rank | Girls | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Queensland state | 98th 2025 | 50 | rank only |
| Ontario province | 103rd 2024 | 101 | about 1 in 539 |
| British Columbia province | 121st 2023 | 24 | about 1 in 498 |
| England and Wales | 226th 2025 | 207 | 1 in 1,224 |
| Scotland | 359th 2025 | 9 | 1 in 1,988 |
| Quebec province | 669th 2025 | 6 | about 1 in 4,334 |
| Ireland | 718th 2025 | 4 | 1 in 5,282 |
Rare, below the listed names: Northern Ireland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, New Zealand, France, the Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland, Berlin, Munich, Cologne, Bonn, Leipzig, Rostock, Norway, Sweden, Spain, Catalonia, Italy, Poland, Hungary, Slovenia and Israel.
Not in a short top list, so no figure: Nova Scotia (top 21), Denmark (top 50), Finland (top 50), Iceland (top 10), Estonia (top 25), Moscow (top 61), Turkey (top 30), Argentina (top 20) and Croatia (top 50).
Sources: Queensland Registry of BDM (Qld Open Data Portal) (Queensland); Ontario Office of the Registrar General (Ontario Data Catalogue) (Ontario); BC Vital Statistics Agency (BC Data Catalogue) (British Columbia); Office for National Statistics (England and Wales); National Records of Scotland (Scotland); Retraite Québec (Banque de prénoms, Données Québec) (Quebec); Central Statistics Office (CSO) (Ireland). How we count, and every source
About the name
Paisley comes from the Scottish Gaelic Pàislig, 'pasture'. Despite respellings such as Paisleigh, the name does not contain the -ley or -leigh ending found in many English place names.
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Two syllables, said PAYZ-lee, with the stress on the first. It has no common variant spellings.
It is chiefly a North American and Australian name, sitting just around the top 100 in Queensland, Ontario and British Columbia, and it is not recorded in continental European rankings. Canadian records show it peaking in 2015. It is now falling in four regions and rising in only one, so it may be past its peak.
Meaning, origin, pronunciation
- Pronounced
- PAYZ-lee, 2 syllables
- Meaning
pasture
- Origin
- Scottish Gaelic
Etymology
From Scottish Gaelic Pàislig (“pasture”). Despite occasional respellings such as Paisleigh, this word does not etymologically contain the suffix -ley/-leigh.
From the Wiktionary entry, CC BY-SA 4.0, shortened.
Over time
Over five years: rising in 1 of 5 regions, falling in 4.
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Rank in each place since 1996; higher on the chart is more popular.
Ten years of ranks
Her rank each year, English-speaking regions first. A blank means no published rank for her that year.
| Region | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England and Wales | 161 | 147 | 171 | 152 | 146 | 157 | 172 | 192 | 234 | 226 |
| Scotland | 262 | 275 | 286 | 286 | 178 | 363 | 531 | 395 | 384 | 359 |
| Northern Ireland | 353 | 434 | 397 | 298 | 266 | 391 | 407 | |||
| Ireland | 868 | 629 | 621 | 444 | 517 | 357 | 296 | 372 | 718 | |
| Ontario | 73 | 77 | 69 | 68 | 65 | 78 | 96 | 95 | 103 | |
| British Columbia | 96 | 70 | 74 | 72 | 70 | 94 | 99 | 121 | ||
| Queensland | 79 | 98 | ||||||||
| South Australia | 518 | 395 | 95 | |||||||
| Quebec | 730 | 651 | 730 | 785 | 669 |
England and Wales, 1996 to 2025
| Year | Rank | Girls | per 100,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 226 | 207 | 81.7 |
| 2024 | 234 | 205 | 79.5 |
| 2023 | 192 | 258 | 100.6 |
| 2022 | 172 | 296 | 112.3 |
| 2021 | 157 | 330 | 120.4 |
| 2020 | 146 | 349 | 130.0 |
| 2019 | 152 | 332 | 118.5 |
| 2018 | 171 | 313 | 108.6 |
| 2017 | 147 | 369 | 123.4 |
| 2016 | 161 | 348 | 113.3 |
| 2015 | 384 | 119 | 38.6 |
| 2014 | 589 | 70 | 22.8 |
| 2013 | 784 | 49 | 15.9 |
| 2012 | 934 | 39 | 12.1 |
| 2011 | 1168 | 28 | 8.7 |
| 2010 | 1218 | 26 | 8.1 |
| 2009 | 1209 | 25 | 8.0 |
| 2008 | 1815 | 14 | 4.4 |
| 2007 | 1196 | 23 | 7.5 |
| 2006 | 1435 | 17 | 5.7 |
| 2005 | 1045 | 24 | 8.3 |
| 2004 | 1952 | 10 | 3.5 |
| 2003 | 996 | 24 | 8.6 |
| 2002 | 1442 | 13 | 4.9 |
| 2001 | 1439 | 13 | 4.9 |
| 2000 | 1139 | 17 | 6.2 |
| 1999 | 1317 | 14 | 5.0 |
| 1998 | 1036 | 20 | 6.9 |
| 1997 | 705 | 34 | 11.6 |
| 1996 | 608 | 40 | 13.5 |
Sources: Office for National Statistics (1996-2025), OGL v3.
Ontario and British Columbia since 1925
Half of the babies named Paisley in Ontario and British Columbia since 1925 were born in or after 2017. First recorded in 1991. Her peak year there: 2015, at 290.9 per 100,000 girls.
Babies named Paisley per 100,000 girls born in Ontario and British Columbia, by five-year period. Her 2015 peak is averaged into its five-year period, so the line sits below it.
Sources: Ontario Office of the Registrar General (Ontario Data Catalogue) (1917-2024), OGL-Ontario; BC Vital Statistics Agency (BC Data Catalogue) (1924-2023), OGL-BC.
Sister names for Paisley
1 in 1,041 in Northern Ireland
Rose and fell with Paisley.
1 in 716 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Paisley.
1 in 688 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Paisley.
1 in 1,041 in Northern Ireland
Rose and fell with Paisley.
1 in 383 in Northern Ireland
Rose and fell with Paisley.
1 in 1,106 in England and Wales
Rose and fell with Paisley.
1 in 1,151 in England and Wales
Rose and fell with Paisley.
1 in 1,689 in England and Wales
1 in 3,333 in England and Wales
Rose and fell with Paisley.
1 in 1,320 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Paisley.
Middle names for Paisley
1 in 57 in Northern Ireland
Paisley Grace
2-1 beats · initials PG
Changes the beat after Paisley: 2 syllables, then 1 syllable.
1 in 71 in Scotland
Paisley Olivia
2-4 beats · initials PO · Paisley slides into Olivia: vowel meets vowel.
Changes the beat after Paisley: 2 syllables, then 4 syllables. Paisley slides into Olivia: vowel meets vowel.
1 in 99 in Scotland
Paisley Sophia
2-3 beats · initials PS
Changes the beat after Paisley: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
1 in 311 in Ireland
Paisley Maria
2-3 beats · initials PM
Changes the beat after Paisley: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
1 in 214 in Northern Ireland
Paisley Rose
2-1 beats · initials PR
Changes the beat after Paisley: 2 syllables, then 1 syllable.
1 in 78 in Northern Ireland
Paisley Emily
2-3 beats · initials PE · Paisley slides into Emily: vowel meets vowel.
Changes the beat after Paisley: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables. Paisley slides into Emily: vowel meets vowel.
1 in 491 in Ireland
Paisley Julia
2-3 beats · initials PJ
Changes the beat after Paisley: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
1 in 1,286 in England and Wales
Paisley Miriam
2-3 beats · initials PM
Changes the beat after Paisley: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
Same style as Paisley
Names whose popularity rose and fell with hers across regions and decades.
1 in 949 in England and Wales
98% alike: moves with Paisley across countries and decades.
1 in 1,118 in Scotland
95% alike: moves with Paisley across countries and decades.
1 in 1,822 in Northern Ireland
95% alike: moves with Paisley across countries and decades.
1 in 1,320 in Ireland
94% alike: moves with Paisley across countries and decades.
1 in 511 in Scotland
94% alike: moves with Paisley across countries and decades.
1 in 2,584 in England and Wales
94% alike: moves with Paisley across countries and decades.
1 in 700 in England and Wales
94% alike: moves with Paisley across countries and decades.
1 in 1,689 in England and Wales
94% alike: moves with Paisley across countries and decades.
Questions about Paisley
5 questions, on how popular she is, what it means, how to say it, whether she is rising and sister names.
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How popular is Paisley?
Her best rank is No. 98 in Queensland in 2025. She is in the published lists of 7 of our 40 regions.
What does Paisley mean?
Wiktionary glosses Paisley as "pasture".
How do you pronounce Paisley?
PAYZ-lee, with 2 syllables.
Is Paisley getting more popular?
Over five years: rising in 1 of 5 regions, falling in 4.
Which sister names go with Paisley?
The deck's top five sisters for Paisley: Gia, Ariella, Harlow, Sloane and Lilah. Each is scored on style, era, popularity and origin, with sound clashes flagged.