Given name & surname
Brentley
“from the meadow near the hill”
Brentley is used as a given name and a surname. One English interpretation is “from the meadow near the hill.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One English interpretation is “from the meadow near the hill.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is English.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1957. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Brentley through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 4,548
- 4,244 boys · 304 girls
- Most popular year
- 2014
- 436 babies
- 2025
- 85
- #2,009 for boys · #9,558 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −53%
- Cooling
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 75 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 2,009 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 54.6% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 413 in 2014. It also appeared in 10 birth records for girls in 2025. In 2025, Tennessee had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (7). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 3,167 as a first name in 2020; 195 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.
Brentley’s family of names
Brentley has a related form in Brently. Brentley has a related form in Brentlea. Brentley has a related form in Brentleah.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 7
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 2
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
Similar names
If you love Brentley, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Bentley
“from the meadow of bent grass”
95% boys · 5% girls
Locke
“man of the forest” · “from the fortress”
>99% boys
Woods
“a woman of the forest” · “a man of the forest”
98% boys · 2% girls
Ashton
“from the ash-tree town”
95% boys · 5% girls
Mannley
“from the hero's meadow; from the man's meadow”
>99% boys
Hernley
“from the heron's meadow”
>99% boys
Rishley
“from the untamed meadow”
>99% boys
Gridley
“from the flat meadow”
>99% boys