Bridget
Bridget was the 724th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 385 babies. Its best year was 1973, when it ranked 112th with 2,763 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 190 places. More babies were named Bridget in the 1970s than in any other decade.
Meaning high, exalted (Irish) · Irish, Celtic
Say it BRIJ-it /ˈbrɪdʒɪt/
- Rank in 2025
- #724 girls, up 26 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 385girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 19732,763 babies
- Total since 1880
- 92,517babies recorded
What does the name Bridget mean?
Bridget is the English form of the Irish saint's name Brigid (Brighid). DMNES traces Old Irish Brigit to a Proto-Celtic word meaning high or exalted. It was the name of an Irish goddess and of Saint Brigid, a 6th-century patron saint of Ireland, and DMNES notes the two were often confused. DMNES also lists a 14th-century Swedish saint of the name. Bride is an older English doublet. Bridget has been used in the US since 1880.
Brigit (Old Irish, “Brigid”)*Brigantī (Proto-Celtic, “high, exalted”)
How sure is this? Probable. The Proto-Celtic root is reconstructed.
Related names: Brigid, Brigitte, Birgitta, Bridie, Bree, Bride.
See also: Irish names.
Sources for this meaning
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources, ed. S. L. Uckelman, Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Bridget', DMNES (Durham University)
- Wiktionary, entry 'Bridget' (English section), Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- US Social Security Administration, national baby-name data 1880-2025 (yob*.txt), team3 computation of first year recorded, US Social Security Administration (public domain)
Nicknames for Bridget
The usual nicknames for Bridget are Bridie, Biddy and Bridge.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Girls, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bridie | Traditional | — | — |
| Biddy | Traditional | — | — |
| Bridge | Modern | — | — |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are girls given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Bridgets go by each one.
Bridget popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 150 since 1968.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #724 | 385 |
| 2020 | #750 | 363 |
| 2010 | #447 | 687 |
| 2000 | #274 | 1,167 |
| 1990 | #191 | 1,548 |
| 1980 | #153 | 1,832 |
| 1970 | #179 | 1,815 |
| 1960 | #265 | 1,151 |
| 1950 | #551 | 226 |
| 1940 | #869 | 67 |
| 1930 | #958 | 58 |
| 1920 | #865 | 70 |
| 1910 | #706 | 36 |
| 1900 | #531 | 40 |
| 1890 | #387 | 42 |
| 1880 | #261 | 35 |
How popular is Bridget, counting every spelling?
Bridget is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #553 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #724 for Bridget on its own. Together these spellings went to 544 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bridget | 385 | #724 | 1,911 |
| Bridgette | 88 | #2,125 | 401 |
| Brigitte | 59 | #2,864 | 306 |
| Bridgett | 12 | #8,452 | 65 |
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 Bridget?
385 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Bridget (0.11 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Bridget 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 22 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Bridget.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Bridget?
About 84,000 people born in the US named Bridget are alive today, with a median age of 43; half are between 29 and 55. That makes Bridget 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.
Bridget by state
How common Bridget was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Massachusetts (3.6×), Connecticut (2.4×), Kansas (2.4×), New Jersey (2.1×), Virginia (2.0×). In 17 states fewer than five girls 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 Bridget: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Bridget, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Bridget · Sibling names for Bridget
Questions about the name Bridget
What does Bridget mean?
Bridget means “high, exalted (Irish)” (Irish, Celtic origin). Certainty: probable.
How popular is the name Bridget?
Bridget was the 724th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 385 babies. Its best year was 1973, when it ranked 112th with 2,763 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 190 places. More babies were named Bridget in the 1970s than in any other decade.
Is Bridget a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Bridget in the US.
Where is Bridget most popular?
In 2021–2025, Bridget was most common in Massachusetts (0.86 per 1,000 girls), followed by Connecticut and Kansas.