Bradford
Bradford was the 3522nd most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 32 babies. Its best year was 1953, when it ranked 240th with 779 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 1,351 places. More babies were named Bradford in the 1950s than in any other decade.
Meaning "broad ford" · Old English, English
Say it BRAD-ferd /ˈbrædfərd/
- Rank in 2025
- #3,522 boys, down 969 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 32boys
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a boy’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 1953779 babies
- Total since 1880
- 32,114babies recorded
What does the name Bradford mean?
Bradford is an English place-name and surname from Old English brād, "broad", and ford, "ford, river crossing". The best-known place is the city in West Yorkshire. In the US it was used as a first name mostly in the mid-20th century. Brad is its usual short form.
brād (Old English, “broad”)ford (Old English, “ford, river crossing”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Related names: Brad, Bradley, Ford.
See also: English names, names that mean water, names from places.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Bradford', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation)
- Wikipedia, 'Bradford (name)', Wikipedia (Wikimedia Foundation)
Nicknames for Bradford
The usual nicknames for Bradford are Brad. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 boys named Bradford in the last five years, 68 were named Brad, against 218 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Boys, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brad · also for Bradley | Traditional | #4,267 | 146 |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are boys given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Bradfords go by each one.
Bradford popularity since 1880
A few girls are given the name too: 39 since 1955.
| Year | Rank (boys) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #3,522 | 32 |
| 2020 | #2,553 | 50 |
| 2010 | #1,852 | 78 |
| 2000 | #1,130 | 123 |
| 1990 | #581 | 304 |
| 1980 | #308 | 630 |
| 1970 | #318 | 612 |
| 1960 | #298 | 667 |
| 1950 | #275 | 576 |
| 1940 | #517 | 126 |
| 1930 | #662 | 88 |
| 1920 | #767 | 74 |
| 1910 | #1,211 | 8 |
| 1900 | #702 | 13 |
| 1890 | — | — |
| 1880 | #930 | 5 |
How popular is Bradford, counting every spelling?
Bradford has no other common spelling that sounds the same.
How many kids will share the name Bradford?
32 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Bradford (0.01 per 1,000 births). For a boy named Bradford born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 261 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Bradford.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Bradford?
About 24,000 people born in the US named Bradford are alive today, with a median age of 53; half are between 42 and 66. That makes Bradford mostly worn by adults in their thirties to fifties.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Bradford by state
How common Bradford was among boys born in each state in 2021–2025. In 45 states fewer than five boys a year got the name, too few for SSA to publish, so those states show as zero.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Bradford: their share of US boys followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Bradford, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Bradford · Sibling names for Bradford
Questions about the name Bradford
What does Bradford mean?
Bradford means “"broad ford"” (Old English, English origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Bradford?
Bradford was the 3522nd most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 32 babies. Its best year was 1953, when it ranked 240th with 779 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 1,351 places. More babies were named Bradford in the 1950s than in any other decade.
Is Bradford a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a boy’s name given the name Bradford in the US.
Where is Bradford most popular?
In 2021–2025, Bradford was most common in Massachusetts (0.04 per 1,000 boys), followed by Tennessee and Georgia.