Brent
Brent was given to 116 boys in 2025, #1,509 among boys’ names; 140,366 Americans have been recorded with it since 1885 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 121,000 Americans named Brent and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (86% of everyone recorded); the median is 48 years old and half are between 38 and 58.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Brent by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Brent mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Brent is “a male given name transferred from the surname, of 20th century and later usage.” Its etymology gives the sense “steep” (brant).
English surname from placenames in Devon and Somerset, from Old English brant (“steep”), referring to hills. Compare Brents.
/bɹɛnt/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Brent?
#1,509 among boys’ names, 2025
Brent fell from #875 in 2015 to #1,509 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born fell from 0.13 to 0.07 per 1,000.
4,300 babies in 1970, the peak
Brent peaked in 1970, when 4,300 babies were given it (4,269 boys, #74 among boys’ names). The 116 births of 2025 are 3% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 116 | #1,509 | 0.07 |
| 2024 | 102 | #1,651 | 0.06 |
| 2023 | 125 | #1,450 | 0.07 |
| 2022 | 138 | #1,354 | 0.08 |
| 2021 | 154 | #1,240 | 0.09 |
| 2020 | 145 | #1,265 | 0.08 |
| 2019 | 182 | #1,094 | 0.10 |
| 2018 | 163 | #1,175 | 0.09 |
| 2017 | 201 | #1,007 | 0.11 |
| 2016 | 211 | #973 | 0.11 |
Every recorded year (116)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 254 | #875 | 0.13 |
| 2014 | 263 | #850 | 0.14 |
| 2013 | 289 | #777 | 0.15 |
| 2012 | 318 | #731 | 0.17 |
| 2011 | 287 | #782 | 0.15 |
| 2010 | 368 | #655 | 0.19 |
| 2009 | 399 | #628 | 0.20 |
| 2008 | 471 | #559 | 0.23 |
| 2007 | 522 | #506 | 0.25 |
| 2006 | 544 | #485 | 0.26 |
| 2005 | 562 | #454 | 0.28 |
| 2004 | 646 | #405 | 0.33 |
| 2003 | 685 | #382 | 0.35 |
| 2002 | 727 | #362 | 0.37 |
| 2001 | 847 | #330 | 0.44 |
| 2000 | 900 | #319 | 0.46 |
| 1999 | 1,055 | #279 | 0.55 |
| 1998 | 1,202 | #249 | 0.63 |
| 1997 | 1,254 | #241 | 0.67 |
| 1996 | 1,337 | #226 | 0.71 |
| 1995 | 1,586 | #194 | 0.83 |
| 1994 | 1,630 | #188 | 0.84 |
| 1993 | 1,801 | #178 | 0.92 |
| 1992 | 1,958 | #160 | 1.0 |
| 1991 | 2,193 | #146 | 1.1 |
| 1990 | 2,608 | #127 | 1.3 |
| 1989 | 2,748 | #118 | 1.4 |
| 1988 | 2,869 | #107 | 1.5 |
| 1987 | 2,835 | #103 | 1.5 |
| 1986 | 3,061 | #94 | 1.7 |
| 1985 | 3,321 | #89 | 1.8 |
| 1984 | 3,186 | #89 | 1.8 |
| 1983 | 3,030 | #94 | 1.7 |
| 1982 | 3,321 | #91 | 1.8 |
| 1981 | 3,371 | #88 | 1.9 |
| 1980 | 3,537 | #84 | 2.0 |
| 1979 | 3,455 | #84 | 2.0 |
| 1978 | 3,181 | #87 | 1.9 |
| 1977 | 3,423 | #85 | 2.1 |
| 1976 | 3,405 | #78 | 2.2 |
| 1975 | 3,364 | #79 | 2.2 |
| 1974 | 3,413 | #76 | 2.2 |
| 1973 | 3,287 | #80 | 2.1 |
| 1972 | 3,530 | #77 | 2.2 |
| 1971 | 4,053 | #73 | 2.3 |
| 1970 | 4,269 | #74 | 2.3 |
| 1969 | 3,355 | #92 | 1.9 |
| 1968 | 2,919 | #102 | 1.7 |
| 1967 | 2,861 | #108 | 1.6 |
| 1966 | 2,689 | #114 | 1.5 |
| 1965 | 2,408 | #131 | 1.3 |
| 1964 | 2,745 | #125 | 1.4 |
| 1963 | 2,815 | #125 | 1.4 |
| 1962 | 2,558 | #139 | 1.2 |
| 1961 | 2,553 | #137 | 1.2 |
| 1960 | 2,261 | #154 | 1.1 |
| 1959 | 2,280 | #151 | 1.1 |
| 1958 | 2,072 | #159 | 1.0 |
| 1957 | 1,779 | #174 | 0.82 |
| 1956 | 1,457 | #191 | 0.69 |
| 1955 | 1,382 | #193 | 0.67 |
| 1954 | 1,232 | #202 | 0.60 |
| 1953 | 1,202 | #201 | 0.61 |
| 1952 | 1,081 | #205 | 0.56 |
| 1951 | 942 | #211 | 0.50 |
| 1950 | 908 | #212 | 0.51 |
| 1949 | 738 | #240 | 0.42 |
| 1948 | 645 | #256 | 0.37 |
| 1947 | 669 | #257 | 0.37 |
| 1946 | 506 | #287 | 0.31 |
| 1945 | 269 | #362 | 0.20 |
| 1944 | 315 | #336 | 0.23 |
| 1943 | 350 | #328 | 0.25 |
| 1942 | 315 | #343 | 0.23 |
| 1941 | 289 | #340 | 0.24 |
| 1940 | 288 | #336 | 0.25 |
| 1939 | 185 | #418 | 0.17 |
| 1938 | 114 | #544 | 0.10 |
| 1937 | 91 | #610 | 0.09 |
| 1936 | 65 | #749 | 0.06 |
| 1935 | 51 | #884 | 0.05 |
| 1934 | 45 | #943 | 0.04 |
| 1933 | 46 | #927 | 0.05 |
| 1932 | 32 | #1,200 | 0.03 |
| 1931 | 36 | #1,131 | 0.03 |
| 1930 | 29 | #1,337 | 0.03 |
| 1929 | 24 | #1,486 | 0.02 |
| 1928 | 19 | #1,769 | 0.02 |
| 1927 | 26 | #1,477 | 0.02 |
| 1926 | 21 | #1,669 | 0.02 |
| 1925 | 19 | #1,813 | 0.02 |
| 1924 | 18 | #1,900 | 0.02 |
| 1923 | 15 | #2,132 | 0.01 |
| 1922 | 14 | #2,255 | 0.01 |
| 1921 | 21 | #1,710 | 0.02 |
| 1920 | 22 | #1,648 | 0.02 |
| 1919 | 21 | #1,636 | 0.02 |
| 1918 | 19 | #1,769 | 0.02 |
| 1917 | 17 | #1,819 | 0.02 |
| 1916 | 18 | #1,703 | 0.02 |
| 1915 | 17 | #1,714 | 0.02 |
| 1913 | 6 | #2,537 | 0.01 |
| 1912 | 8 | #1,905 | 0.02 |
| 1910 | 5 | #1,619 | 0.03 |
| 1896 | 5 | #1,121 | 0.04 |
| 1885 | 5 | #954 | 0.05 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Brent a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Brent has been given almost only to boys: 567 girls in 116 years of records.
Girls and boys named Brent: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Brent, and how old are they?
121,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 86% of the 140,366 Americans ever recorded as Brent. The median Brent alive today is 48 years old; half are between 38 and 58.
The 2020 Census counted 119,140 people named Brent (190 women and girls, 118,950 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 125,366 born in the U.S. The Census count is 5% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 777 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 21,100 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 47,300 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 38,900 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 10,600 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 2,330 |
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 Brent born?
The states with the most babies named Brent are California, Ohio and Texas, with 22% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 13,551 | #1,521 | 0.9× |
| Ohio | 8,413 | not ranked | 1.2× |
| Texas | 8,351 | #1,933 | 0.8× |
| Michigan | 7,617 | not ranked | 1.3× |
| Illinois | 6,292 | not ranked | 0.9× |
| Indiana | 6,018 | #864 | 1.7× |
| Pennsylvania | 5,297 | not ranked | 0.7× |
| Utah | 5,052 | not ranked | 3.7× |
| Minnesota | 4,929 | not ranked | 1.7× |
| Missouri | 3,865 | not ranked | 1.2× |
Where Brent is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Brent is most over-represented in Utah: since 1910 it was given 3.7 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 Brent with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 2 names spelled alike, given to 140,660 babies since 1880, Brent is the most given (100% of them). In 2025 it was given to 116 of their 116 babies (100%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Brent
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 Brent and names like it
- Compare Brent and BrenttBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1970sBrent peaked in 1970.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Brent since 1910.
- From surnamesWiktionary’s origin for Brent: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1970The year the most babies were named Brent.
- The names of Generation XMost people named Brent alive today were born 1965-1980.
- Names starting with BMost given first.