Bret
- Gender
- Boy
- Origin
- Celtic
- US rank, 2025
- #4,856 for boys
Bret is a boys' name of Celtic origin, meaning “a Breton”. In 2025 it ranked 4,856th for boys in the US (20 babies).
What does Bret mean?
Celtic
“a Breton”
A male given name transferred from the surname, variant of Brett, ultimately meaning "a Breton".
From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Is Bret a girl's or a boy's name?
Bret is a boys' name. In 2025, it was given to 20 boys in the US. Too few girls were given it to be listed.
How popular is Bret in the UK?
No boys in the UK were given it in 2025, or too few to be listed. Its busiest year was 1998, with 17 boys.
Half of all the boys named Bret in the UK since 1996 were born between 1998 and 2008. It was already well used in 1996, when the records begin, so earlier boys aren't counted.
Bret in the UK, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 1 | #6,258 |
| 2018 | 0 | – |
| 2017 | 4 | #4,161 |
| 2016 | 7 | #2,947 |
| 2015 | 0 | – |
| 2014 | 0 | – |
| 2013 | 1 | #6,198 |
| 2012 | 1 | #6,332 |
| 2011 | 4 | #3,986 |
| 2010 | 9 | #2,306 |
| 2009 | 6 | #2,970 |
| 2008 | 6 | #2,906 |
| 2007 | 10 | #1,987 |
| 2006 | 3 | #4,204 |
| 2005 | 6 | #2,545 |
| 2004 | 7 | #2,157 |
| 2003 | 11 | #1,498 |
| 2002 | 5 | #2,358 |
| 2001 | 5 | #2,326 |
| 2000 | 9 | #1,503 |
| 1999 | 11 | #1,267 |
| 1998 | 17 | #951 |
| 1997 | 9 | #1,412 |
| 1996 | 16 | #940 |
How popular is Bret in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- 4,856th among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 20 about 1 in 85,000 boys
- Five-year trend
- Steady down 6% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 20 boys in the US were named Bret, making it the 4,856th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 5,231st. Its busiest year was 1959, with 1,839 boys. It first appears in the records in 1926.
2025 had fewer boys named Bret than any year since 2020.
Half of all the boys named Bret in the US since 1880 were born between 1963 and 1987, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2025, 153 boys in the US were given Bret or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #1,161, up from #4,856 for this spelling alone.
- Brett 133
- Bret 20
Bret in the US, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 20 | #4,856 |
| 2024 | 21 | #4,697 |
| 2023 | 27 | #3,999 |
| 2022 | 23 | #4,438 |
| 2021 | 22 | #4,490 |
| 2020 | 17 | #5,231 |
| 2019 | 21 | #4,635 |
| 2018 | 34 | #3,298 |
| 2017 | 23 | #4,327 |
| 2016 | 33 | #3,357 |
| 2015 | 33 | #3,364 |
| 2014 | 45 | #2,659 |
| 2013 | 39 | #2,893 |
| 2012 | 42 | #2,810 |
| 2011 | 72 | #1,926 |
| 2010 | 89 | #1,713 |
| 2009 | 96 | #1,637 |
| 2008 | 123 | #1,380 |
| 2007 | 109 | #1,464 |
| 2006 | 99 | #1,519 |
| 2005 | 151 | #1,092 |
| 2004 | 160 | #1,021 |
| 2003 | 171 | #955 |
| 2002 | 189 | #867 |
| 2001 | 246 | #713 |
| 2000 | 274 | #656 |
| 1999 | 335 | #579 |
| 1998 | 305 | #604 |
| 1997 | 285 | #614 |
| 1996 | 350 | #543 |
| 1995 | 388 | #519 |
| 1994 | 414 | #494 |
| 1993 | 405 | #507 |
| 1992 | 463 | #468 |
| 1991 | 516 | #432 |
| 1990 | 546 | #417 |
| 1989 | 545 | #398 |
| 1988 | 487 | #410 |
| 1987 | 536 | #365 |
| 1986 | 509 | #366 |
| 1985 | 502 | #365 |
| 1984 | 458 | #381 |
| 1983 | 504 | #352 |
| 1982 | 1,098 | #217 |
| 1981 | 532 | #342 |
| 1980 | 410 | #400 |
| 1979 | 490 | #359 |
| 1978 | 381 | #396 |
| 1977 | 415 | #385 |
| 1976 | 505 | #341 |
| 1975 | 462 | #359 |
| 1974 | 509 | #342 |
| 1973 | 541 | #322 |
| 1972 | 628 | #293 |
| 1971 | 734 | #284 |
| 1970 | 871 | #260 |
| 1969 | 791 | #264 |
| 1968 | 841 | #246 |
| 1967 | 837 | #243 |
| 1966 | 860 | #243 |
| 1965 | 743 | #274 |
| 1964 | 786 | #275 |
| 1963 | 787 | #274 |
| 1962 | 787 | #274 |
| 1961 | 741 | #284 |
| 1960 | 1,242 | #223 |
| 1959 | 1,839 | #170 |
| 1958 | 1,514 | #187 |
| 1957 | 194 | #555 |
| 1956 | 81 | #830 |
| 1955 | 91 | #762 |
| 1954 | 82 | #794 |
| 1953 | 55 | #965 |
| 1952 | 48 | #1,043 |
| 1951 | 25 | #1,488 |
| 1950 | 34 | #1,231 |
| 1949 | 25 | #1,461 |
| 1948 | 19 | #1,702 |
| 1947 | 28 | #1,393 |
| 1946 | 12 | #2,142 |
| 1945 | 10 | #2,241 |
| 1944 | 8 | #2,632 |
| 1943 | 12 | #2,181 |
| 1942 | 0 | – |
| 1941 | 9 | #2,491 |
| 1940 | 10 | #2,322 |
| 1939 | 0 | – |
| 1938 | 0 | – |
| 1937 | 0 | – |
| 1936 | 0 | – |
| 1935 | 0 | – |
| 1934 | 0 | – |
| 1933 | 0 | – |
| 1932 | 0 | – |
| 1931 | 0 | – |
| 1930 | 0 | – |
| 1929 | 0 | – |
| 1928 | 0 | – |
| 1927 | 0 | – |
| 1926 | 5 | #4,199 |
Names like Bret
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Ryan, Bradley, Daniel, Michael, Brian, Adam, Matthew, Blake, Sean, Aaron, Benjamin, Patrick
Other spellings of Bret
Names related to Bret
More Celtic names
Arthur, Imogen, Gael, Harvey, Alana, Alan, Tristan, Vienna, Lana, Alaina, Sabrina, Alanna, Bryce, Devon, Arturo, Alannah
Sources
Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.
To cite this page: Nameling, “Bret: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/bret, updated 20 October 2026.