Boys' name · peaked in 1953
Bradford name popularity since 1925
31,057 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Bradford. Half of them were born in 1968 or earlier, so the typical Bradford is about 58 years old in 2026. Bradford peaked in 1953 as the #240 name for boys, and it was outside the top 1,000 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 31,057
- Named Bradford, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- Not top 1,000
- #3,522 for boys in 2025
- Girls / boys
- 99.9% boys
- 39 girls · 31,018 boys
- Most popular in
- Massachusetts
- 4.09× its national share
Peak year is the year Bradford made up the largest share of US boys, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Bradford births per year, 1925–2025
1953 was the biggest year for Bradford both by count and as a share of all babies.
- Fastest rise: Between 1945 and 1950, Bradford became 2.4× more common, from 1 in 7,310 baby boys to 1 in 3,110.
- Steepest fall: Between 1996 and 2001, its share of baby boys fell by 52%, from 1 in 8,980 to 1 in 18,900.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Bradford's share of all US boys five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Bradford.
Decade by decade
Babies named Bradford in each decade, and its rank among boys' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 0 | 439 | – |
| 1930s | 0 | 998 | #606 |
| 1940s | 0 | 2,418 | #440 |
| 1950s | 5 | 6,693 | #267 |
| 1960s | 11 | 5,794 | #316 |
| 1970s | 18 | 5,710 | #323 |
| 1980s | 5 | 4,745 | #398 |
| 1990s | 0 | 2,292 | #727 |
| 2000s | 0 | 976 | #1,486 |
| 2010s | 0 | 689 | #2,171 |
| 2020–25 | 0 | 264 | #3,522 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 boys that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
35.9% of babies named Bradford from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Baby Boom years (1946–1964). The full split by generation:
Where Bradford is most popular
The index compares Bradford's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Bradford.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| Massachusetts | 4.09× | 2,596 |
| Rhode Island | 3.70× | 350 |
| Maine | 2.65× | 302 |
| Connecticut | 2.38× | 689 |
| West Virginia | 1.47× | 344 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 1999 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Bradford's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Bradford.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Bradford (1953).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data