Given name & surname · also Old English
Bradley
“from the broad field”·“from the wide meadow”
Bradley is used as a given name and a surname. Interpretations include “from the broad field” (English) and “from the wide meadow” (English). These may reflect different naming traditions.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Interpretations include “from the broad field” (English) and “from the wide meadow” (English). These may reflect different naming traditions.
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Old English.
How it developed
It entered given-name use through an existing surname.
The story
Its naming history includes the use of a family name as a given name.
Bradley through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 314,957
- 313,008 boys · 1,949 girls
- Most popular year
- 1980
- 7,262 babies
- 2025
- 830
- #403 for boys · #3,994 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −40%
- Cooling
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 794 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 403 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 41.1% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 7,210 in 1980. It also appeared in 36 birth records for girls in 2025. In 2025, Texas had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (76). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 237,481 as a first name in 2020; 130,526 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.
Bradley’s family of names
In English usage, Bradley has a diminutive in Brad. Bradley has a feminine form in BRADLEYA. Bradley has a related form in Bradly.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 14
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 2
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 Bradley
- Bradley CooperAmerican actor and filmmaker (born 1975)
- Chelsea ManningAmerican activist and whistleblower (born 1987)
- Bradley BarcolaFrench footballer (born 2002)
- Bradley WigginsBritish former professional road and track racing cyclistborn 1980
- Brad FriedelAmerican soccer player and coachborn 1971
- Bradley WhitfordAmerican actor (born 1959)
- Brad GuzanAmerican soccer playerborn 1984
- Brad JonesAustralian association football playerborn 1982
- Brad GarrettAmerican actor and stand-up comedianborn 1960
Characters named Bradley: Brad Bellick (fictional character).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Bradley, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Wade
“to cross the river ford”
>99% boys
Gridley
“from the flat meadow”
>99% boys
Ashford
“from the ash-tree ford”
>99% boys
Mannley
“from the hero's meadow; from the man's meadow”
>99% boys
Rishley
“from the untamed meadow”
>99% boys
Grimsley
“from the dark meadow”
>99% boys
Ridgeley
“one who lives at the meadow'sridge”
75% boys · 25% girls
Hockley
“from the high meadow”
>99% boys