Fun Facts About the Name Brad
- More than 83 thousand babies named Brad: U.S. records list 83,299 babies given the name Brad from 1880 through 2025. Even 233 girls received the name Brad - about 1 girl for every 357 boys.
What Does the Name Brad Mean?
Brad is an English masculine given name, usually a short form of Bradley. Bradley is derived from Old English place names: the first element is brād, "broad," and the second is lēah, "woodland, clearing, meadow." Its common meaning is "broad clearing" or "broad meadow." Less commonly, Brad is also a short form of Bradford, which comes from Old English brād and ford, "ford," giving the literal sense "broad ford." Brad does not have a separate Old English origin as a personal name; its meaning comes through the longer names it shortens. In Romanian, brad means "fir tree," and it appears in Romanian surnames, but that is a separate linguistic origin from the English given name.
Brad Name History & Origins
Brad is a clipped form of the English surname and given name Bradley. Bradley began as a place name: several English settlements were called Bradley, from Old English brād "broad" and lēah "woodland" or "clearing." In the Middle Ages, people took surnames from such places, and Bradley became a hereditary English surname. The surname was later used as a first name, and by the 20th century Brad was in use as a standalone given name in the United States and other English-speaking countries, usually as a short form of Bradley. The name Bradford follows a similar pattern: it comes from Old English brād and ford, "ford," and was also a surname and given name that could be shortened to Brad. As a standalone name, Brad is not an Old English personal name; it is a modern English short form of these longer names. The Romanian word brad, "fir tree," is unrelated to the English name.
How Popular is the Name Brad?
Brad recorded its highest annual U.S. birth count in 1960. Brad entered the top 100 U.S. boy names in 1975.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | #6,845 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1986 | #11,093 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1985 | #8,434 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1984 | #9,260 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1983 | #10,442 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1982 | #5,962 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1981 | #6,856 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1980 | #5,950 | 11 | 0.0007% |
| 1979 | #4,436 | 16 | 0.0010% |
| 1978 | #4,473 | 15 | 0.0010% |
| 1977 | #5,564 | 11 | 0.0007% |
| 1976 | #3,979 | 16 | 0.0011% |
| 1975 | #6,553 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1974 | #4,486 | 13 | 0.0009% |
| 1973 | #6,147 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1972 | #5,514 | 9 | 0.0006% |
| 1971 | #4,837 | 11 | 0.0007% |
| 1970 | #4,257 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 1969 | #4,454 | 11 | 0.0007% |
| 1968 | #6,324 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1967 | #6,096 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1964 | #5,527 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1961 | #5,351 | 7 | 0.0003% |
| 1960 | #5,220 | 7 | 0.0003% |
| 1955 | #5,911 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #4,267 | 24 | 0.0014% |
| 2024 | #4,074 | 26 | 0.0015% |
| 2023 | #3,897 | 28 | 0.0016% |
| 2022 | #3,544 | 32 | 0.0018% |
| 2021 | #3,250 | 36 | 0.0021% |
| 2020 | #2,889 | 41 | 0.0024% |
| 2019 | #2,998 | 40 | 0.0022% |
| 2018 | #2,419 | 54 | 0.0030% |
| 2017 | #2,350 | 55 | 0.0030% |
| 2016 | #2,521 | 50 | 0.0026% |
| 2015 | #1,743 | 88 | 0.0046% |
| 2014 | #1,908 | 76 | 0.0040% |
| 2013 | #1,709 | 86 | 0.0045% |
| 2012 | #1,588 | 99 | 0.0052% |
| 2011 | #1,411 | 117 | 0.0062% |
| 2010 | #1,415 | 117 | 0.0061% |
| 2009 | #1,234 | 145 | 0.0073% |
| 2008 | #1,105 | 166 | 0.0081% |
| 2007 | #954 | 206 | 0.0099% |
| 2006 | #906 | 214 | 0.0104% |
| 2005 | #824 | 228 | 0.0114% |
| 2004 | #837 | 212 | 0.0107% |
| 2003 | #809 | 215 | 0.0109% |
| 2002 | #749 | 231 | 0.0119% |
| 2001 | #685 | 263 | 0.0135% |
| 2000 | #632 | 289 | 0.0147% |
| 1999 | #603 | 307 | 0.0160% |
| 1998 | #579 | 338 | 0.0177% |
| 1997 | #521 | 388 | 0.0206% |
| 1996 | #498 | 419 | 0.0221% |
| 1995 | #513 | 398 | 0.0209% |
| 1994 | #516 | 383 | 0.0198% |
| 1993 | #463 | 456 | 0.0233% |
| 1992 | #461 | 471 | 0.0236% |
| 1991 | #401 | 566 | 0.0280% |
| 1990 | #363 | 649 | 0.0316% |
| 1989 | #320 | 750 | 0.0375% |
| 1988 | #278 | 835 | 0.0436% |
| 1987 | #228 | 1,026 | 0.0550% |
| 1986 | #216 | 1,102 | 0.0598% |
| 1985 | #210 | 1,143 | 0.0618% |
| 1984 | #196 | 1,237 | 0.0685% |
| 1983 | #175 | 1,471 | 0.0821% |
| 1982 | #163 | 1,687 | 0.0930% |
| 1981 | #143 | 1,958 | 0.1093% |
| 1980 | #116 | 2,371 | 0.1329% |
| 1979 | #115 | 2,334 | 0.1356% |
| 1978 | #123 | 2,107 | 0.1283% |
| 1977 | #106 | 2,524 | 0.1536% |
| 1976 | #108 | 2,437 | 0.1553% |
| 1975 | #98 | 2,610 | 0.1671% |
| 1974 | #105 | 2,483 | 0.1579% |
| 1973 | #137 | 1,885 | 0.1209% |
| 1972 | #149 | 1,748 | 0.1078% |
| 1971 | #139 | 2,165 | 0.1224% |
| 1970 | #139 | 2,326 | 0.1252% |
| 1969 | #145 | 2,106 | 0.1178% |
| 1968 | #158 | 1,709 | 0.0983% |
| 1967 | #155 | 1,771 | 0.1016% |
| 1966 | #150 | 1,896 | 0.1063% |
| 1965 | #148 | 2,090 | 0.1123% |
| 1964 | #142 | 2,279 | 0.1144% |
| 1963 | #146 | 2,274 | 0.1120% |
| 1962 | #158 | 2,082 | 0.1006% |
| 1961 | #142 | 2,500 | 0.1177% |
| 1960 | #134 | 2,647 | 0.1242% |
| 1959 | #149 | 2,348 | 0.1100% |
| 1958 | #151 | 2,255 | 0.1063% |
| 1957 | #153 | 2,191 | 0.1016% |
| 1956 | #142 | 2,254 | 0.1066% |
| 1955 | #153 | 1,877 | 0.0911% |
| 1954 | #154 | 1,845 | 0.0905% |
| 1953 | #164 | 1,651 | 0.0837% |
| 1952 | #212 | 965 | 0.0496% |
| 1951 | #273 | 615 | 0.0327% |
| 1950 | #320 | 460 | 0.0257% |
| 1949 | #384 | 307 | 0.0173% |
| 1948 | #414 | 266 | 0.0152% |
| 1947 | #441 | 230 | 0.0126% |
| 1946 | #506 | 163 | 0.0100% |
| 1945 | #709 | 73 | 0.0054% |
| 1944 | #761 | 67 | 0.0049% |
| 1943 | #817 | 65 | 0.0046% |
| 1942 | #840 | 60 | 0.0043% |
| 1941 | #1,093 | 36 | 0.0029% |
| 1940 | #1,211 | 31 | 0.0027% |
| 1939 | #1,199 | 30 | 0.0027% |
| 1938 | #1,620 | 18 | 0.0016% |
| 1937 | #1,212 | 30 | 0.0028% |
| 1936 | #1,550 | 19 | 0.0018% |
| 1935 | #1,298 | 27 | 0.0026% |
| 1934 | #1,729 | 17 | 0.0016% |
| 1933 | #2,111 | 12 | 0.0012% |
| 1932 | #3,122 | 7 | 0.0007% |
| 1931 | #2,497 | 10 | 0.0010% |
| 1930 | #3,054 | 8 | 0.0007% |
| 1929 | #4,031 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1928 | #3,754 | 6 | 0.0005% |
| 1926 | #2,934 | 9 | 0.0008% |
| 1925 | #4,278 | 5 | 0.0004% |
| 1920 | #2,621 | 11 | 0.0010% |
| 1918 | #3,777 | 6 | 0.0006% |
| 1917 | #4,055 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1914 | #3,311 | 5 | 0.0008% |
| 1887 | #833 | 6 | 0.0059% |
| 1880 | #929 | 5 | 0.0045% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
