Brett
Brett was the 1382nd most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 133 babies. Its best year was 1986, when it ranked 69th with 4,729 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 637 places. More babies were named Brett in the 1980s than in any other decade.
Meaning a Breton · English, Old French
Say it BRET /bɹɛt/
- Rank in 2025
- #1,382 boys, down 457 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 133boys
- Girls and boys
- 8% girls, 92% boys2021–2025
- Peak year
- 19864,729 babies
- Total since 1880
- 162,513babies recorded
What does the name Brett mean?
Brett is an English surname meaning 'a Breton', a person from Brittany, as Wiktionary notes; many Bretons came to England with the Normans. It is related to Britain and Briton. As a first name it was used for both sexes and became popular for boys in the US in the 1970s and 1980s; Lady Brett Ashley in Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises (1926) is a female bearer.
Bret (Old French, “a Breton”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Related names: Bret, Breton.
See also: English names.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Brett', Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- US Social Security Administration, national baby-name data 1880-2025 (our computation), SSA (public domain)
Brett popularity since 1880
| Year | Rank (girls) | Rank (boys) | Babies (girls) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #8,961 | #1,382 | 11 | 133 |
| 2020 | #6,682 | #925 | 17 | 241 |
| 2010 | #6,695 | #389 | 19 | 729 |
| 2000 | #3,279 | #163 | 41 | 2,383 |
| 1990 | #1,828 | #84 | 78 | 4,394 |
| 1980 | #1,502 | #96 | 79 | 3,128 |
| 1970 | #1,906 | #99 | 45 | 3,370 |
| 1960 | #2,745 | #151 | 20 | 2,320 |
| 1950 | #4,359 | #449 | 7 | 215 |
| 1940 | — | #1,907 | — | 14 |
| 1930 | — | — | — | — |
| 1920 | — | — | — | — |
| 1910 | — | — | — | — |
| 1900 | — | — | — | — |
| 1890 | — | — | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — | — | — |
How popular is Brett, counting every spelling?
Brett is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #1,218 for boys in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #1,382 for Brett on its own. Together these spellings went to 153 boys in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brett | 133 | #1,382 | 944 |
| Bret | 20 | #4,883 | 113 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Brett?
133 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Brett (0.04 per 1,000 births). For a boy named Brett 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 63 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Brett.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Brett?
About 144,700 people born in the US named Brett are alive today, with a median age of 41; half are between 32 and 53. That makes Brett 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.
Brett by state
How common Brett was among boys born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Louisiana (2.2×), Missouri (1.9×), North Carolina (1.7×), Wisconsin (1.6×). In 24 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 Brett: their share of US boys followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Brett, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Brett · Sibling names for Brett
Questions about the name Brett
What does Brett mean?
Brett means “a Breton” (English, Old French origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Brett?
Brett was the 1382nd most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 133 babies. Its best year was 1986, when it ranked 69th with 4,729 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 637 places. More babies were named Brett in the 1980s than in any other decade.
Is Brett a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, 8% girls, 92% boys given the name Brett in the US.
Where is Brett most popular?
In 2021–2025, Brett was most common in Louisiana (0.24 per 1,000 boys), followed by Missouri and North Carolina.