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[Facts] Ashleigh--an old English spelling
or a modern invention?Siri
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Middle English, if anything...Old English spelling would be more like aescleah :)
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Well, if it's a surname as a first name, all the spellings found in the surname are equally legit.The Old English element leah "wood, forest, clearing" has become rendered as leigh in many modern surnames: Farleigh, Raleigh etc.You can tell whether a surname spelling exists by typing "John [Surname]" into Google, and maybe "Mary [Surname]" as well for good measure. If it exists, there's bound to be a John or Mary with the name :-) I tried this with Ashleigh, and couldn't find it, in that spelling, as a surname even once. So in that sense it's not as legit as Ashley, but because the -leigh spelling remains in other surnames and keeps the "h" ending of Old English, you could still probably justify it imo._____________________________________________________________________"You are never given a wish without also being given the power to make it true."Elinor
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