Boys' name · peaked in 1980
Bradley name popularity since 1925
313,782 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Bradley (0.6% girls, 99.4% boys). Half of them were born in 1981 or earlier, so the typical Bradley is about 45 years old in 2026. Bradley peaked in 1980 as the #51 name for boys, and it ranked #403 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 313,782
- Named Bradley, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- #403
- for boys in 2025 (794 babies)
- Girls / boys
- 99.4% boys
- 1,943 girls · 311,839 boys
- Most popular in
- North Dakota
- 2.18× its national share
Peak year is the year Bradley 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.
Bradley births per year, 1925–2025
1980 was the biggest year for Bradley both by count and as a share of all babies.
- Fastest rise: Between 1945 and 1950, Bradley became 4× more common, from 1 in 4,340 baby boys to 1 in 1,100.
- Steepest fall: Between 1996 and 2001, its share of baby boys fell by 44%, from 1 in 398 to 1 in 712.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Bradley's share of all US boys five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Bradley.
Decade by decade
Babies named Bradley 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 | 471 | – |
| 1930s | 0 | 1,830 | #357 |
| 1940s | 11 | 5,532 | #339 |
| 1950s | 55 | 29,507 | #107 |
| 1960s | 145 | 48,730 | #72 |
| 1970s | 293 | 58,678 | #52 |
| 1980s | 428 | 69,352 | #53 |
| 1990s | 194 | 48,086 | #78 |
| 2000s | 139 | 23,618 | #173 |
| 2010s | 375 | 20,160 | #173 |
| 2020–25 | 303 | 5,875 | #403 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 boys that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
31.6% of babies named Bradley from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Millennial years (1981–1996). The full split by generation:
Where Bradley is most popular
The index compares Bradley'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 Bradley.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| North Dakota | 2.18× | 2,158 |
| Minnesota | 2.04× | 11,699 |
| South Dakota | 2.02× | 2,022 |
| Iowa | 1.92× | 7,667 |
| Nebraska | 1.75× | 3,852 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Bradley and were given to at least 1,000 boys from 1925 to 2025, with the year each one was most popular.
| Spelling | Boys | Peak year |
|---|---|---|
| Bradley (this page) | 311,839 | 1980 |
| Bradly | 9,343 | 1990 |
| Bradlee | 3,470 | 2012 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 499 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Bradley's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Bradley.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Bradley (1980).
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