# Bret (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/bret/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys |
| Origin | not recorded |
| Meaning | not recorded |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 30,051 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 29,819 / 232 (1% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 139, 1996 to 2025 |

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1988 | 10 | 7,186 |
| 1989 | 5 | 12,626 |
| 1990 | 5 | 13,233 |
| 1993 | 9 | 8,816 |
| 1994 | 19 | 5,044 |
| 1995 | 14 | 6,301 |
| 1996 | 12 | 7,197 |
| 1997 | 10 | 8,438 |
| 1998 | 9 | 9,381 |
| 1999 | 6 | 12,921 |
| 2000 | 8 | 10,884 |
| 2002 | 7 | 12,408 |
| 2005 | 7 | 13,240 |
| 2007 | 7 | 14,172 |
| 2011 | 6 | 15,161 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 72 | 1,931 |
| 2012 | 42 | 2,820 |
| 2013 | 39 | 2,898 |
| 2014 | 45 | 2,669 |
| 2015 | 33 | 3,378 |
| 2016 | 33 | 3,369 |
| 2017 | 23 | 4,345 |
| 2018 | 34 | 3,307 |
| 2019 | 21 | 4,660 |
| 2020 | 17 | 5,275 |
| 2021 | 22 | 4,513 |
| 2022 | 23 | 4,456 |
| 2023 | 27 | 4,017 |
| 2024 | 21 | 4,726 |
| 2025 | 20 | 4,883 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 10 | 1,281 |
| 2000 | 7 | 1,703 |
| 2001 | 5 | 2,220 |
| 2002 | 5 | 2,254 |
| 2003 | 11 | 1,410 |
| 2004 | 6 | 2,304 |
| 2005 | 6 | 2,418 |
| 2006 | 3 | 4,052 |
| 2007 | 9 | 2,023 |
| 2008 | 6 | 2,775 |
| 2009 | 6 | 2,837 |
| 2010 | 9 | 2,199 |
| 2011 | 4 | 3,830 |
| 2016 | 6 | 3,079 |
| 2017 | 4 | 3,996 |

## People named Bret

- Bret Easton Ellis, American novelist, screenwriter
- Bret Harte, American writer and poet (1836–1902)
- Bret Hart, Canadian-American professional wrestler, writer and actor
- Bret Michaels, American rock musician
- Bret Iwan, American voice actor
- Bret Harrison, American actor
- Bret Baier, American journalist, host of Special Report with Bret Baier on Fox News Channel
- Bret Taylor, American businessman
- Bret Stephens, American journalist
- Bret Weinstein, biologist, professor, public intellectual
- Bret Hedican, American ice hockey player
- Bret Loehr, American actor

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.