Bradley

What Bradley means

Means “broad + woodland”

Ultimately from Old English brād (“broad”) + lēah (“woodland”).

Source: Wiktionary, “Bradley” (revision 94535014), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Bradley?

US: Falling: down from #173 in 2015. England & Wales: Falling: down from #141 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 1980, when 7,210 boys got the name (#51 that year). First in the US records in 1880.

How common

• About 1 in 2,151 baby boys in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 2,285 baby boys in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 1,228 baby boys in Scotland in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in ME (1.82 per 1,000 boys), TN (0.92 per 1,000 boys), MS (0.83 per 1,000 boys) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed boys born in each state.

US vs UK

Bradley is #403 in the US and #352 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (boys). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 95.7% of US babies named Bradley were boys.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

How to say it

Wiktionary only lists the US pronunciation so far.

IPA from Wiktionary.

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Bradlee24 US
• Bradly10 US

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

If you like Bradley

Boys

• Curtis#984“polite, courteous”^*
• Keith#800“wood”^*
• Corey#778possibly “troop, host, company”^*
• Travis#434“to cross over”^*
• Troy#532Editor’s note Down from #300 in 2015 to #532 in 2025 in the US
• Kyle#508“narrows”^*

For a sister

• Kelsey#814Editor’s note Cooling off in the US: #343 in 2015, #814 in 2025
• Tiffany#878Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1988, with 18,364 babies; 304 in 2025
• Lacey#738Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1984, with 2,399 babies; 370 in 2025
• Kelly#851Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1977, with 18,234 babies; 319 in 2025
• Kimberly#302Editor’s note Cooling off in the US: #108 in 2015, #302 in 2025
• Shelby#649Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1991, with 10,220 babies; 444 in 2025

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under From a surname, whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Bradley’s. Rank is US 2025.