Unisex name · since 2008
Brave
508 babies named Brave in U.S. Social Security records since 2008, with the highest year being 2022. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #7,822 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #3,232 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 508
- born since 2008
- 2020s
- peak decade
Yes -- Brave is the #3232 most popular unisex name in the U.S. today, with 508 recorded since 2008.
Brave has 508 recorded births among boys since 2008, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #3232 as of the latest data, more common than 77% of boys, busiest in the 2020s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 2008 to 2025.
- #7,822 of 45,481 all-time among boys
- #3,232 of 13,930 2025 SSA year
- 508 born since 2008
- 2020s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Brave ranks #7,822 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #3,232 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. 508 born since 2008, peaking in the 2020s.
- #7,822 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #3,232 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 508
- born since 2008
- 2020s
- peak decade
Brave's 508 recorded births place it above 82.78% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.
The state file records this name in 4 jurisdictions, led by California.
How Brave compares
508 Top 44% higher than 56% of 13,930 names currently given to boys
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked boys names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Brave's all-time total is 38% above the median boys name, and Liam still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Brave | Median boys name (Takari) | #1 boys name (Liam) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 508 | 369 | 358,536 |
| Peak-year births | 54 | 34 | 22,252 |
Brave's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Brave's full recorded timeline at 2017, 74% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 26% in the earlier half -- usage has skewed toward the present, not a one-decade spike. Its quietest year on record was 2011, with just 5 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 2022 peak of 54 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Brave popularity over time - boys
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 2008–2025
- Peak year (2022)
- 54
- Annual births at peak, across 18 years of records
Brave popularity over time - girls
160 total births recorded since 2015 (Brave as girls' name)
Brave by decade
2020s is the heaviest window (284 births, 56% of the file).
2020s was Brave's strongest decade.
284 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 56% of all-time use.
Brave births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 2000s 17
2000s
17 births
- 2010s
2010s
207 births
- 2020s
2020s
284 births
What this shows Peak: 2020s at 284 births (56% of all-time use).
How Brave compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 boys names closest to Brave's total volume
Brave by state
Where Brave concentrates geographically, total births since 2008
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | California | | 29 | 5.7% |
| #2 | Texas | | 24 | 4.7% |
| #3 | Florida | | 7 | 1.4% |
| #4 | Pennsylvania | | 6 | 1.2% |
29 of 508 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 4 reporting states.
Frequently Asked Questions
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What to do with Brave's data
- California records the most Braves (29 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. California names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Brave
Nearby Names Like Brave
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Brave
Compare Brave side by side: Brave vs Brandon Brave vs Bradley Brave vs Brayden
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Brave
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Brave: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~2022)
Similar record span (~17 yrs)
Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.
Data Sources
Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 2008–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Brave draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.