Bradford
Bradford was given to 32 boys in 2025, #3,521 among boys’ names; 32,114 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 24,100 Americans named Bradford and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (75% of everyone recorded); the median is 53 years old and half are between 42 and 66.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Bradford by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Bradford mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Bradford is “a male given name transferred from the surname, of mostly American usage.” Its etymology gives the senses “broad” (brād) and “ford” (ford).
Various place names in England, from Old English brād (“broad”) + ford (“ford”).
(shaken martini)
/ˈbɹædfɚd/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Bradford?
#3,521 among boys’ names, 2025
Bradford fell from #2,171 in 2015 to #3,521 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born fell from 32.9 to 18.7 per million.
779 babies in 1953, the peak
Bradford peaked in 1953, when 779 boys were given it, #240 among boys’ names. The 32 births of 2025 are 4% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 32 | #3,521 | 0.02 |
| 2024 | 42 | #2,964 | 0.02 |
| 2023 | 49 | #2,661 | 0.03 |
| 2022 | 42 | #2,970 | 0.02 |
| 2021 | 49 | #2,630 | 0.03 |
| 2020 | 50 | #2,552 | 0.03 |
| 2019 | 48 | #2,662 | 0.03 |
| 2018 | 67 | #2,102 | 0.04 |
| 2017 | 70 | #2,018 | 0.04 |
| 2016 | 68 | #2,068 | 0.04 |
Every recorded year (136)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 63 | #2,171 | 0.03 |
| 2014 | 77 | #1,885 | 0.04 |
| 2013 | 64 | #2,092 | 0.03 |
| 2012 | 81 | #1,820 | 0.04 |
| 2011 | 73 | #1,906 | 0.04 |
| 2010 | 78 | #1,851 | 0.04 |
| 2009 | 76 | #1,894 | 0.04 |
| 2008 | 57 | #2,295 | 0.03 |
| 2007 | 99 | #1,578 | 0.05 |
| 2006 | 95 | #1,552 | 0.05 |
| 2005 | 97 | #1,485 | 0.05 |
| 2004 | 99 | #1,423 | 0.05 |
| 2003 | 102 | #1,343 | 0.05 |
| 2002 | 125 | #1,139 | 0.06 |
| 2001 | 103 | #1,280 | 0.05 |
| 2000 | 123 | #1,128 | 0.06 |
| 1999 | 151 | #954 | 0.08 |
| 1998 | 176 | #834 | 0.09 |
| 1997 | 177 | #819 | 0.09 |
| 1996 | 211 | #727 | 0.11 |
| 1995 | 216 | #724 | 0.11 |
| 1994 | 243 | #664 | 0.13 |
| 1993 | 267 | #629 | 0.14 |
| 1992 | 270 | #625 | 0.14 |
| 1991 | 277 | #612 | 0.14 |
| 1990 | 304 | #580 | 0.15 |
| 1989 | 353 | #507 | 0.18 |
| 1988 | 368 | #479 | 0.19 |
| 1987 | 441 | #416 | 0.24 |
| 1986 | 387 | #437 | 0.21 |
| 1985 | 453 | #398 | 0.25 |
| 1984 | 473 | #372 | 0.26 |
| 1983 | 480 | #365 | 0.27 |
| 1982 | 561 | #335 | 0.31 |
| 1981 | 599 | #319 | 0.33 |
| 1980 | 630 | #308 | 0.35 |
| 1979 | 614 | #314 | 0.36 |
| 1978 | 599 | #301 | 0.36 |
| 1977 | 603 | #312 | 0.37 |
| 1976 | 593 | #301 | 0.38 |
| 1975 | 555 | #323 | 0.36 |
| 1974 | 602 | #305 | 0.38 |
| 1973 | 494 | #343 | 0.32 |
| 1972 | 469 | #357 | 0.29 |
| 1971 | 569 | #328 | 0.32 |
| 1970 | 612 | #318 | 0.33 |
| 1969 | 601 | #311 | 0.34 |
| 1968 | 535 | #330 | 0.31 |
| 1967 | 558 | #315 | 0.32 |
| 1966 | 525 | #328 | 0.29 |
| 1965 | 581 | #316 | 0.31 |
| 1964 | 602 | #317 | 0.30 |
| 1963 | 611 | #320 | 0.30 |
| 1962 | 535 | #338 | 0.26 |
| 1961 | 579 | #327 | 0.27 |
| 1960 | 667 | #298 | 0.31 |
| 1959 | 619 | #310 | 0.29 |
| 1958 | 620 | #304 | 0.29 |
| 1957 | 675 | #284 | 0.31 |
| 1956 | 720 | #273 | 0.34 |
| 1955 | 700 | #267 | 0.34 |
| 1954 | 773 | #249 | 0.38 |
| 1953 | 779 | #240 | 0.39 |
| 1952 | 656 | #269 | 0.34 |
| 1951 | 575 | #285 | 0.31 |
| 1950 | 576 | #275 | 0.32 |
| 1949 | 496 | #305 | 0.28 |
| 1948 | 376 | #347 | 0.21 |
| 1947 | 327 | #380 | 0.18 |
| 1946 | 251 | #402 | 0.15 |
| 1945 | 184 | #440 | 0.14 |
| 1944 | 191 | #442 | 0.14 |
| 1943 | 173 | #470 | 0.12 |
| 1942 | 159 | #486 | 0.12 |
| 1941 | 135 | #506 | 0.11 |
| 1940 | 126 | #517 | 0.11 |
| 1939 | 128 | #500 | 0.12 |
| 1938 | 107 | #565 | 0.10 |
| 1937 | 130 | #504 | 0.12 |
| 1936 | 102 | #572 | 0.10 |
| 1935 | 92 | #606 | 0.09 |
| 1934 | 96 | #602 | 0.09 |
| 1933 | 82 | #637 | 0.08 |
| 1932 | 86 | #657 | 0.08 |
| 1931 | 87 | #633 | 0.08 |
| 1930 | 88 | #662 | 0.08 |
| 1929 | 84 | #668 | 0.08 |
| 1928 | 85 | #686 | 0.08 |
| 1927 | 96 | #647 | 0.09 |
| 1926 | 98 | #637 | 0.09 |
| 1925 | 76 | #755 | 0.07 |
| 1924 | 76 | #772 | 0.07 |
| 1923 | 73 | #771 | 0.07 |
| 1922 | 71 | #794 | 0.07 |
| 1921 | 85 | #708 | 0.08 |
| 1920 | 74 | #767 | 0.07 |
| 1919 | 69 | #778 | 0.07 |
| 1918 | 70 | #780 | 0.07 |
| 1917 | 72 | #726 | 0.08 |
| 1916 | 72 | #699 | 0.08 |
| 1915 | 69 | #707 | 0.08 |
| 1914 | 50 | #745 | 0.08 |
| 1913 | 38 | #762 | 0.07 |
| 1912 | 43 | #635 | 0.10 |
| 1911 | 22 | #671 | 0.10 |
| 1910 | 8 | #1,210 | 0.04 |
| 1909 | 15 | #721 | 0.09 |
| 1908 | 11 | #833 | 0.07 |
| 1907 | 9 | #936 | 0.06 |
| 1906 | 5 | #1,265 | 0.04 |
| 1905 | 11 | #747 | 0.08 |
| 1904 | 8 | #892 | 0.06 |
| 1902 | 9 | #801 | 0.07 |
| 1901 | 5 | #1,068 | 0.05 |
| 1900 | 13 | #701 | 0.09 |
| 1898 | 9 | #750 | 0.07 |
| 1897 | 5 | #1,082 | 0.04 |
| 1896 | 13 | #598 | 0.11 |
| 1895 | 11 | #642 | 0.09 |
| 1894 | 5 | #1,097 | 0.04 |
| 1893 | 7 | #845 | 0.06 |
| 1891 | 9 | #651 | 0.09 |
| 1889 | 5 | #989 | 0.05 |
| 1888 | 5 | #1,054 | 0.04 |
| 1885 | 5 | #953 | 0.05 |
| 1880 | 5 | #930 | 0.05 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Bradford a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Bradford has been given almost only to boys: 39 girls in 136 years of records.
Girls and boys named Bradford: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Bradford, and how old are they?
24,100 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 75% of the 32,114 Americans ever recorded as Bradford. The median Bradford alive today is 53 years old; half are between 42 and 66.
The 2020 Census counted 22,735 people named Bradford (50 women and girls, 22,685 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 25,559 born in the U.S. The Census count is 11% below that prediction. Possible reasons: people who give a short form or another name to the Census, and a survival estimate that can run high.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 497 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 7,500 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 8,100 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 5,590 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 1,680 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 716 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Bradford born?
The states with the most babies named Bradford are Massachusetts, California and New York, with 27% of its births recorded by state since 1910; Massachusetts is not among the ten states with the most births.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Massachusetts | 2,733 | not ranked | 3.1× |
| California | 2,714 | not ranked | 0.9× |
| New York | 1,727 | not ranked | 0.7× |
| Texas | 1,364 | not ranked | 0.6× |
| Ohio | 1,351 | not ranked | 0.8× |
| Pennsylvania | 1,242 | not ranked | 0.7× |
| Michigan | 1,188 | not ranked | 0.9× |
| Illinois | 1,151 | not ranked | 0.7× |
| North Carolina | 958 | not ranked | 1.1× |
| Georgia | 955 | not ranked | 1.1× |
Where Bradford is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Bradford is most over-represented in Massachusetts: since 1910 it was given 3.1 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Bradford with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Bradford
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Bradford and names like it
- Compare Bradford and ReginaldBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1950sBradford peaked in 1953.
- Massachusetts’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Bradford since 1910.
- From surnamesWiktionary’s origin for Bradford: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1953The year the most babies were named Bradford.
- The names of Generation XMost people named Bradford alive today were born 1965-1980.
- Names starting with BMost given first.