Scottish Tartans. Ainslie.

The name Ainslie most likely derives from Annesley in Nottinghamshire, England. There was also a Ansley in Warwickshire which is recorded as “Hanslei” in the Domesday Book of 1086, and derives from the Olde English “ansetl”, hermitage, with “leah”, thin wood, glade, clearing. Annesley in Nottinghamshire is recorded in the Domesday Book as “Aneslei”, and means “the solitary glade”, from the Olde English “an”, one, with “leah” as before. Therefore it is most likely to have originated in Nottinghamshire.

The surname Ainslie is chiefly found in the border areas of Scotland but before the Normal Conquest it was prominant in England. The modern forms of the surname are Ainslie, Ainsley, Aynsley and Ainslee. The first documented people with the surname Ainlie (or a variant of this) were Thomas de Aneslei (1221, Glasgow); Johan de Anesleye (1296, Roxburghshire); and John de Annesley (1292, York).

The Saxon lords of Annesley in Nottinghamshire held large estates, but they fled in the face of the advancing forces of William the Conqueror to Scotland, where they were received generously by Malcolm III.