boys' name ★ peaked 1980

Bradley

Meaning broad Gender Boy · 1% girls Rank 2025 #403 Trend ↓ Falling 35%

Ultimately from Old English brād (“broad”) + lēah (“woodland”).

Rank 2025
#403
among boys · ↓41 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
830
named Bradley · -14% vs 2024
How common
1 in 2,151
boys born in 2025
Peak year
1980
7,262 babies
All-time total
314,957
#113 all-time among boys
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Bradley popularity over time

314,957 babies have been named Bradley since 1880, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
1.252.53.75518801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
BoysGirls

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s – 42 42 4 – #567
1890s – 118 118 12 +181% #370
1900s – 128 128 13 +8% #588
1910s – 479 479 48 +274% #692
1920s 6 873 879 88 +84% #564
1930s – 1,830 1,830 183 +108% #357
1940s 11 5,532 5,543 554 +203% #174
1950s 55 29,507 29,562 2,956 +433% #103
1960s 145 48,730 48,875 4,888 +65% #53
1970s 293 58,678 58,971 5,897 +21% #47
1980s 428 69,352 69,780 6,978 +18% #50
1990s 194 48,086 48,280 4,828 -31% #65
2000s 139 23,618 23,757 2,376 -51% #131
2010s 375 20,160 20,535 2,054 -14% #169
2020s (to 2025) 303 5,875 6,178 1,030 -50% #273

Where Bradley is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 boys (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 boys Implied rank
2026 739 0.43 #432
2027 695 0.41 #451
2028 660 0.39 #468
2029 631 0.37 #481
2030 608 0.36 #497

Where Bradley is most popular

Boys named Bradley per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.537 per 1,000. Strongest in West Virginia, Maine, and Mississippi.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are boys named Bradley born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Boys 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
West Virginia 34 1.04 +94%
Maine 19 0.979 +82%
Mississippi 54 0.950 +77%
New Jersey 182 0.904 +68%
Kentucky 88 0.877 +63%
Florida 409 0.864 +61%
Alabama 91 0.832 +55%
Massachusetts 106 0.771 +44%
Connecticut 52 0.768 +43%
Montana 13 0.737 +37%
Rhode Island 12 0.736 +37%
Louisiana 75 0.733 +37%
South Carolina 75 0.726 +35%
Oklahoma 64 0.724 +35%
Indiana 116 0.723 +35%
Nevada 39 0.684 +27%
Tennessee 123 0.681 +27%
Maryland 81 0.679 +26%
Georgia 171 0.675 +26%
Virginia 127 0.669 +25%
Pennsylvania 176 0.663 +23%
Oregon 49 0.646 +20%
Missouri 89 0.642 +20%
Utah 61 0.639 +19%
New Hampshire 14 0.631 +17%
Kansas 43 0.627 +17%
Wisconsin 73 0.616 +15%
New Mexico 20 0.607 +13%
Arizona 99 0.605 +13%
Arkansas 38 0.600 +12%
Washington 98 0.599 +12%
Iowa 41 0.595 +11%
North Carolina 145 0.568 +6%
Ohio 146 0.551 ≈ national
Minnesota 67 0.546 ≈ national
New York 236 0.545 ≈ national
California 474 0.519 ≈ national
Michigan 106 0.518 ≈ national
Colorado 59 0.457 -15%
Illinois 115 0.450 -16%
Texas 382 0.434 -19%
Alaska 5 0.420 -22%
Hawaii 5 0.322 -40%
Idaho 12 0.293 -45%
North Dakota 5 0.293 -45%
Nebraska 12 0.276 -49%
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
South Dakota – – –
Vermont – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Bradley

Bradley is moderately common for boys in the United States, ranked #403 in 2025 with 794 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 314,957 American babies have been named Bradley. Its peak came in 1980, when 7,262 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1980s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Bradley stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Bradley?

The median living Bradley is about 42 years old; half are between 31 and 55. An estimated 284 thousand people named Bradley are alive in the United States today.

median 42 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Bradley year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 36 #3,994 794 #403
2024 52 #3,087 910 #362
2023 49 #3,283 908 #359
2022 62 #2,766 952 #345
2021 58 #2,897 1,074 #313
2020 46 #3,346 1,237 #273
2019 53 #3,050 1,443 #253
2018 48 #3,299 1,496 #247
2017 49 #3,255 1,649 #230
2016 58 #2,909 2,054 #197
2015 51 #3,218 2,402 #173
2014 43 #3,600 2,330 #183
2013 30 #4,668 2,330 #176
2012 15 #7,878 2,300 #169
2011 15 #7,859 2,161 #177
2010 13 #8,799 1,995 #185
2009 13 #8,982 1,951 #196
2008 8 #12,771 1,953 #201
2007 12 #9,643 2,075 #194
2006 13 #8,806 2,137 #188
2005 17 #6,870 2,409 #173
2004 20 #6,006 2,308 #176
2003 12 #8,602 2,394 #165
2002 15 #7,101 2,645 #149
2001 11 #8,857 2,729 #145
2000 18 #5,978 3,017 #131
1995 23 #4,363 4,764 #78
1990 17 #5,320 6,437 #65
1985 37 #2,602 7,011 #53
1980 52 #2,017 7,210 #51
1975 32 #2,459 5,894 #52
1970 24 #2,865 6,818 #47
1965 16 #3,160 4,787 #72
1960 7 #5,220 4,746 #90
1955 6 #5,278 3,183 #107
1950 5 #5,378 1,632 #152
1945 – – 310 #339
1940 – – 227 #380
1935 – – 237 #357
1930 – – 122 #543
1925 – – 79 #731
1920 6 #4,459 86 #692
1915 – – 66 #734
1910 – – 17 #731
1905 – – 9 #846
1900 – – 15 #651
1895 – – 26 #370
1890 – – 9 #671
1885 – – 9 #650
1880 – – 5 #931

Famous people named Bradley

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Bradley Cooper Bradley Cooper American actor and filmmaker (born 1975) Contemporary
  2. 2 Bradley Whitford Bradley Whitford American actor (born 1959) Contemporary
  3. 3 Bradley Steven Perry Bradley Steven Perry American actor (born 1998) Contemporary
  4. 4 Bradley Walsh Bradley Walsh English actor, singer and television presenter (born 1960) Contemporary
  5. 5 Bradley Wright-Phillips Bradley Wright-Phillips English footballer (born 1985) Contemporary
  6. 6 Bradley Beal Bradley Beal American basketball player (born 1993) Contemporary
  7. 7 Bradley James Bradley James English actor b. 1983 · Contemporary
  8. 8 Bradley Wiggins Bradley Wiggins British former professional road and track racing cyclist b. 1980 · Contemporary
  9. 9 Bradley Pierce Bradley Pierce American actor b. 1982 · Contemporary
  10. 10 Bradley Carnell Bradley Carnell South African soccer player and coach (born 1977) Contemporary
  11. 11 Bradley Johnson Bradley Johnson English footballer b. 1987 · Contemporary
  12. 12 Bradley Smith Bradley Smith British motorcycle racer (born 1990) Contemporary
  13. 13 Bradley Joseph Bradley Joseph American composer and producer (born 1965) Contemporary
  14. 14 Bradley McGee Bradley McGee Australian cyclist (born 1976) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Bradley, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Bradley?

The median living Bradley is about 42 years old. Half of all living Bradleys are between 31 and 55 years old.

How many people named Bradley are alive today?

An estimated 284 thousand people named Bradley are alive in the United States, based on 314,957 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Bradley mean?

Ultimately from Old English brād (“broad”) + lēah (“woodland”).

How popular is the name Bradley in 2025?

Bradley ranked #403 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 794 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Bradley?

314,957 babies have been named Bradley in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Bradley most popular?

Bradley peaked in 1980, when 7,262 newborns received the name.

Is Bradley a boy or girl name?

Bradley is overwhelmingly a boy's name: 99% of babies with the name.

Is the name Bradley rising or falling?

Bradley is declining, less popular now than a decade ago.

Will Bradley become more popular?

Bradley is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 608 boys named Bradley in 2030, which would rank around #497. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Bradley?

Well-known people named Bradley include Bradley Cooper (actor), Bradley Whitford (actor), Bradley Steven Perry (actor).

Names like Bradley

Names that sound and feel close to Bradley: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Bradley with similar names → More names starting with B →