Bradley
Meaning
broad meadow
The story
Bradley is the broad meadow, and it owns the third generational giant curve of these batches, after Derek and Casey: about 29,600 in the 1950s, then 48,900, 59,000, cresting at 69,800 in the 1980s, an entire cohort of Brads, then the orderly settle, 48,300, 23,800, 20,500, and 6,200 so far this decade. All-time: about 313,000 boys against 1,900 girls, behind Walter's and Louis's totals and just ahead of Derek's, giant company by any measure. The record narrates this without drama because it is the standard mechanics: the 1980s Bradleys are today's fathers and a decorated Hollywood bearer keeps the name warm while it rests. Names this size do not disappear; they winter. Ask Walter, one shelf over, whose spring arrived this decade.
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Bradley peaked in the 1990s and the 2000s in nearly equal measure.
See popularity in Brazil
Popularity in Brazil
184 people · the #26,983 first name in Brazil · about 1 in 1,000,000 · median age 15
Among people named Bradley living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 2010s than in any other decade.
The census also counted 27 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart.
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
When you meet Bradley
Most people given the name Bradley in the United States were born between 1960 and 1999. The Bradley you meet today is most often in his 30s or 40s.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Bradley deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Bradley truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Bradley fits with your family’s names and surname.
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