Given name & surname
Brad
“one who has broad shoulders”
Brad is connected with Bradford and Bradley in English naming traditions.
Meaning & origin
What it means
One English interpretation is “one who has broad shoulders.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is English.
How it developed
In English use, Brad is used as a shortened form of Bradford. In English use, Brad is used as a shortened form of Bradley.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. In English use, Brad is a diminutive of Bradley. The history of Bradley gives this family its wider story. Bradley’s naming history includes the use of a family name as a given name.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Brad through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 83,293
- 83,060 boys · 233 girls
- Most popular year
- 1960
- 2,651 babies
- 2025
- 24
- #4,267 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −39%
- Cooling
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 24 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 4,267 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 39.2% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 2,644 in 1960. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 99,078 as a first name in 2020; 372 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Brad’s family of names
In English usage, Brad is a diminutive of Bradley. Brad has a related form in Bradd. Brad is a short form of Bradley.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 4
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 2
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Brad
- Brad PittAmerican actor (born 1963)
- Brad DourifAmerican actor (born 1950)
- Brad DelsonAmerican guitarist and rock musicianborn 1977
- Brad RenfroAmerican actor (1982–2008)
- Brad FriedelAmerican soccer player and coachborn 1971
- Brad BirdAmerican film director, animator, screenwriter and producer (born 1957)
- Brad GuzanAmerican soccer playerborn 1984
- Brad JonesAustralian association football playerborn 1982
- Brad GarrettAmerican actor and stand-up comedianborn 1960
Characters named Brad: Brad Bellick (fictional character).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
Similar names
If you love Brad, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Ladd
“a servant; a young man”
>99% boys
Ron
“song of Joy”
>99% boys
Ted
“a gift from God” · “having heart”
>99% boys
Ward
“a guardian”
86% boys · 14% girls
Stafford
“from the landing ford”
>99% boys
Rich
“a powerful ruler”
>99% boys
Rick
“a powerful ruler”
>99% boys
Darrel
“one who is dearly loved”
>99% boys