How so? Not that I don’t believe you, just wondering how it got here from there.
“First recorded as a given name in the 16th century, but its wider use was probably inspired by the Earl of Shaftesbury, Anthony Ashley Cooper in the early 19th century, who was a noted humanitarian who inspired much of the legislation designed to improve conditions among working classes.”
Literary: Ashley Wilkes is the man long loved by Scarlett O’Hara in Margaret Mitchell’s novel “Gone With the Wind”. Ashley is also an English saint’s name (17th century).