Ash Family History

English: from Middle English asche ‘ash tree’ (Old English æsc), hence a topographic name for someone living by an ash tree or a habitational name from any of the many places in southern and central England named with this word (Derbyshire, Dorset, Hampshire, Herefordshire, Kent, Surrey, Shropshire, Somerset, and elsewhere). In New England, Ash is commonly found for French Dufresne, with the same meaning. Jewish (Ashkenazic): from an acronym for Yiddish AltSHul (see Altschul) or AyznSHtot (see Eisenstadt).

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names ©2013, Oxford University Press