Boys' name · peaked in 1986
Brett name popularity since 1925
162,513 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Brett (2.1% girls, 97.9% boys). Half of them were born in 1984 or earlier, so the typical Brett is about 42 years old in 2026. Brett peaked in 1986 as the #69 name for boys, and it was outside the top 1,000 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 162,513
- Named Brett, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- Not top 1,000
- #1,382 for boys in 2025
- Girls / boys
- 97.9% boys
- 3,404 girls · 159,109 boys
- Most popular in
- Utah
- 2.33× its national share
Peak year is the year Brett 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.
Brett births per year, 1925–2025
1986 was the biggest year for Brett both by count and as a share of all babies.
- Fastest rise: Between 1953 and 1958, Brett became 7.5× more common, from 1 in 7,440 baby boys to 1 in 994.
- Steepest fall: Between 2008 and 2013, its share of baby boys fell by 64%, from 1 in 1,910 to 1 in 5,250.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Brett's share of all US boys five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Brett.
Decade by decade
Babies named Brett 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 | 10 | – |
| 1930s | 0 | 38 | #3,711 |
| 1940s | 0 | 547 | #1,299 |
| 1950s | 109 | 7,255 | #341 |
| 1960s | 296 | 25,835 | #132 |
| 1970s | 658 | 28,922 | #92 |
| 1980s | 1,050 | 41,289 | #70 |
| 1990s | 777 | 35,422 | #106 |
| 2000s | 278 | 14,659 | #243 |
| 2010s | 140 | 3,947 | #745 |
| 2020–25 | 96 | 1,185 | #1,382 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 boys that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
40.7% of babies named Brett from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Millennial years (1981–1996). The full split by generation:
Where Brett is most popular
The index compares Brett'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 Brett.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| Utah | 2.33× | 3,168 |
| Idaho | 2.11× | 1,340 |
| Wyoming | 2.01× | 434 |
| Kansas | 1.98× | 3,228 |
| Montana | 1.89× | 885 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Brett 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Brett (this page) | 159,109 | 1986 |
| Bret | 29,819 | 1959 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 499 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Brett's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Brett.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Brett (1986).
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