boys' name ★ peaked 1970

Brent

Meaning steep Gender Boy Rank 2025 #1,509 Trend ↓ Falling 27%

English surname from placenames in Devon and Somerset, from Old English brant (“steep”), referring to hills.

Rank 2025
#1,509
among boys · ↑142 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
116
named Brent · +14% vs 2024
How common
1 in 14,725
boys born in 2025
Peak year
1970
4,300 babies
All-time total
140,366
#241 all-time among boys
First recorded
1885
in Social Security records

Brent popularity over time

140,366 babies have been named Brent since 1885, 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
0.631.251.882.518801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
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 – 5 5 1 – #955
1890s – 5 5 1 0% #1,122
1900s – – – – – –
1910s – 111 111 11 – #1,620
1920s – 199 199 20 +79% #1,477
1930s – 694 694 69 +249% #418
1940s 6 4,384 4,390 439 +533% #240
1950s 40 14,335 14,375 1,438 +227% #151
1960s 78 27,164 27,242 2,724 +90% #92
1970s 210 35,380 35,590 3,559 +31% #73
1980s 212 31,279 31,491 3,149 -12% #84
1990s 21 16,624 16,645 1,665 -47% #127
2000s – 6,303 6,303 630 -62% #319
2010s – 2,536 2,536 254 -60% #655
2020s (to 2025) – 780 780 130 -49% #1,240

Where Brent 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 110 0.06 outside top 500
2027 105 0.06 outside top 500
2028 101 0.06 outside top 500
2029 98 0.06 outside top 500
2030 96 0.06 outside top 500

Where Brent is most popular

Boys named Brent per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.074 per 1,000. Strongest in Louisiana, West Virginia, and Florida.

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 Brent 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
Louisiana 26 0.254 +246%
West Virginia 6 0.184 +150%
Florida 51 0.108 +47%
Indiana 14 0.087 +19%
Ohio 23 0.087 +18%
Pennsylvania 22 0.083 +13%
Tennessee 14 0.078 +5%
Texas 57 0.065 -12%
Maryland 7 0.059 -20%
California 42 0.046 -38%
Alabama 5 0.046 -38%
Wisconsin 5 0.042 -43%
Georgia 10 0.039 -46%
North Carolina 10 0.039 -47%
Washington 6 0.037 -50%
Missouri 5 0.036 -51%
New York 13 0.030 -59%
New Jersey 5 0.025 -66%
Michigan 5 0.024 -67%
Illinois 5 0.020 -73%
Alaska – – –
Arkansas – – –
Arizona – – –
Colorado – – –
Connecticut – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Hawaii – – –
Iowa – – –
Idaho – – –
Kansas – – –
Kentucky – – –
Massachusetts – – –
Maine – – –
Minnesota – – –
Mississippi – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Mexico – – –
Nevada – – –
Oklahoma – – –
Oregon – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Carolina – – –
South Dakota – – –
Utah – – –
Virginia – – –
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 Brent

Brent is rare for boys in the United States, ranked #1,509 in 2025 with 116 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1885, 140,366 American babies have been named Brent. Its peak came in 1970, when 4,300 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1970s.

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 Brent stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Brent?

The median living Brent is about 48 years old; half are between 38 and 57. An estimated 124 thousand people named Brent are alive in the United States today.

median 48 020406080100

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

Brent 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 – – 116 #1,509
2024 – – 102 #1,651
2023 – – 125 #1,450
2022 – – 138 #1,354
2021 – – 154 #1,240
2020 – – 145 #1,265
2019 – – 182 #1,094
2018 – – 163 #1,175
2017 – – 201 #1,007
2016 – – 211 #973
2015 – – 254 #875
2014 – – 263 #850
2013 – – 289 #777
2012 – – 318 #731
2011 – – 287 #782
2010 – – 368 #655
2009 – – 399 #628
2008 – – 471 #559
2007 – – 522 #506
2006 – – 544 #485
2005 – – 562 #454
2004 – – 646 #405
2003 – – 685 #382
2002 – – 727 #362
2001 – – 847 #330
2000 – – 900 #319
1995 – – 1,586 #194
1990 10 #7,951 2,608 #127
1985 24 #3,524 3,321 #89
1980 26 #3,224 3,537 #84
1975 17 #3,788 3,364 #79
1970 31 #2,399 4,269 #74
1965 8 #4,872 2,408 #131
1960 9 #4,477 2,261 #154
1955 – – 1,382 #193
1950 6 #4,788 908 #212
1945 – – 269 #362
1940 – – 288 #336
1935 – – 51 #884
1930 – – 29 #1,337
1925 – – 19 #1,814
1920 – – 22 #1,648
1915 – – 17 #1,715
1910 – – 5 #1,620
1905 – – – –
1900 – – – –
1895 – – – –
1890 – – – –
1885 – – 5 #955
1880 – – – –

Famous people named Brent

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

  1. 1 Brent Spiner Brent Spiner American actor (born 1949) Contemporary
  2. 2 Brent Burns Brent Burns Canadian ice hockey player (born 1985) Contemporary
  3. 3 Brent Barry Brent Barry American basketball player (born 1971) Contemporary
  4. 4 Brent Briscoe Brent Briscoe American actor and screenwriter 1961–2017 · Contemporary
  5. 5 Brent Scowcroft Brent Scowcroft American general and official (1925–2020) Contemporary
  6. 6 Brent Seabrook Brent Seabrook Canadian ice hockey player (born 1985) Contemporary
  7. 7 Brent Bookwalter Brent Bookwalter American racing cyclist (born 1984) Contemporary
  8. 8 Brent Sancho Brent Sancho Trinidad and Tobago footballer and politician b. 1977 · Contemporary
  9. 9 Brent Hayden Brent Hayden Canadian swimmer (born 1983) Contemporary
  10. 10 Brent W. Jett Jr. Brent W. Jett Jr. American astronaut, aviator and engineer (born 1958) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

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

How old is the average Brent?

The median living Brent is about 48 years old. Half of all living Brents are between 38 and 57 years old.

How many people named Brent are alive today?

An estimated 124 thousand people named Brent are alive in the United States, based on 140,366 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Brent mean?

English surname from placenames in Devon and Somerset, from Old English brant (“steep”), referring to hills.

How popular is the name Brent in 2025?

Brent ranked #1,509 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 116 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Brent?

140,366 babies have been named Brent in the United States since 1885, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Brent most popular?

Brent peaked in 1970, when 4,300 newborns received the name.

Is Brent a boy or girl name?

Brent is overwhelmingly a boy's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Brent rising or falling?

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

Will Brent become more popular?

Brent is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 96 boys named Brent in 2030, which would rank outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Brent?

Well-known people named Brent include Brent Spiner (actor), Brent Burns (hockey player), Brent Barry (basketball player).

Names like Brent

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

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