Brady
Brady was the 321st most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 1,071 babies. Its best year was 2007, when it ranked 93rd with 4,951 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 122 places. More babies were named Brady in the 2000s than in any other decade.
Meaning broad island or broad eye; Irish Mac Brádaigh · Irish, Old English
Say it BRAY-dee /ˈbreɪdi/
- Rank in 2025
- #321 boys, down 17 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 1,071boys
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a boy’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 20074,951 babies
- Total since 1880
- 98,908babies recorded
What does the name Brady mean?
Brady has two main sources. In England it is a place-based surname, which Wiktionary derives from Old English brād, "broad", with either ēage, "eye", or ēg, "island"; Bardsley instead reads it as "broad enclosure". In Ireland it anglicizes Mac Brádaigh, and Bardsley already noted that most American Bradys were of Irish origin. Woulfe's 1923 index lists Brady among the English forms. It is used as a first name for boys.
Mac Brádaigh (Irish, “son of Brádach”)brād (Old English, “broad”)
How sure is this? Uncertain. The English place-name element after 'broad' is read differently by different sources; the Irish surname's meaning is not given by them.
See also: Irish names.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Brady', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation)
- Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (1901), s.v. 'Brady', Henry Frowde (public domain; Internet Archive scan)
- Patrick Woulfe, Sloinnte Gaedheal is Gall: Irish Names and Surnames (1923), index of Irish surnames and their anglicized forms, M. H. Gill & Son (Internet Archive scan)
Brady popularity since 1880
A few girls are given the name too: 2,138 since 1903, 52 in 2025.
| Year | Rank (boys) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #321 | 1,071 |
| 2020 | #304 | 1,089 |
| 2010 | #126 | 3,236 |
| 2000 | #189 | 1,884 |
| 1990 | #315 | 797 |
| 1980 | #340 | 541 |
| 1970 | #357 | 520 |
| 1960 | #676 | 134 |
| 1950 | #685 | 99 |
| 1940 | #881 | 51 |
| 1930 | #784 | 67 |
| 1920 | #655 | 94 |
| 1910 | #639 | 21 |
| 1900 | #791 | 11 |
| 1890 | #672 | 9 |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Brady, counting every spelling?
Brady has no other common spelling that sounds the same. Counting every name's spellings together, it ranks #326 for boys in 2025, against #321 on the official list, because Bryan/Brian/Bryon and Kason/Kasen/Casen and Mohamed/Mohammad/Mohammed move ahead once their spellings are combined.
How many kids will share the name Brady?
1,071 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Brady (0.30 per 1,000 births). For a boy named Brady 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 8 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Brady.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Brady?
About 91,500 people born in the US named Brady are alive today, with a median age of 21; half are between 15 and 30. That makes Brady mostly worn by children and young adults.
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.
Brady by state
How common Brady was among boys born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in New Hampshire (2.4×), Michigan (2.3×), Maine (1.9×), West Virginia (1.9×), Louisiana (1.8×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in Nevada, North Dakota, Delaware.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Brady: their share of US boys followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Brady, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Brady · Sibling names for Brady
Questions about the name Brady
What does Brady mean?
Brady is usually explained as “broad island or broad eye; Irish Mac Brádaigh”, but this is uncertain. Certainty: uncertain.
How popular is the name Brady?
Brady was the 321st most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 1,071 babies. Its best year was 2007, when it ranked 93rd with 4,951 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 122 places. More babies were named Brady in the 2000s than in any other decade.
Is Brady a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a boy’s name given the name Brady in the US.
Where is Brady most popular?
In 2021–2025, Brady was most common in New Hampshire (1.58 per 1,000 boys), followed by Michigan and Maine.