Ashton se oorspronklike naam was Roodewal maar toe die Cape Midland Spoorwegmaatskappy die spoor ooswaards gebou het, het die amptenaar wat as Stasiemeester aangestel is dit moeilik gevind om die naam Roodewal uit te spreek. Hy het sy probleem opgelos deur die dorp na sy tuisdorp "Ashton" in Engeland te vernoem.
Originally the town was called Roodewal but when the Cape Midland Railway Company constructed the line eastwards, the official that was sent here to take charge of the station is said to have had difficulty in pronouncing the name of Roodewal. He solved this ‘difficulty’ by renaming it Ashton, after his hometown in England