Brantley first name popularity, history and meaning

Find out how popular the first name Brantley has been for the last 50 years (from 1974 to 2023) and learn more about the meaning and history.

Meaning of Brantley

Meaning "burnt meadow or clearing", an English given name of Old English origin.

Popularity of Brantley by gender

Based on the last 50 years of data, Brantley is more commonly used as a male name, with approximately 97% of people named Brantley being male.

For the most recent data in 2023, there were 884 male babies and 22 female babies born with the name Brantley.

Yes—according to the SSA data, 22 baby girls were named Brantley in 2023, despite it being a predominantly male name. We'd love to know why!

Year Male Count Female Count
2023 884 22
2022 1,060 21
2021 1,297 10
2020 1,575 17
2019 1,662 14
2018 2,106 23
2017 2,333 27
2016 2,613 32
2015 3,300 55
2014 3,350 46
2013 3,193 41
2012 2,583 48
2011 990 27
2010 311 28
2009 137 15
2008 99 18
2007 99 13
2006 94 22
2005 94 25
2004 76 14
2003 94 15
2002 67 17
2001 86 13
2000 86 24
1999 72 17
1998 75 15
1997 85 20
1996 66 9
1995 64 10
1994 73 16
1993 67 6
1992 56 8
1991 62 0
1990 63 12
1989 87 0
1988 96 0
1987 44 0
1986 40 8
1985 36 8
1984 35 9
1983 26 6
1982 38 10
1981 29 6
1980 37 9
1979 34 0
1978 36 8
1977 28 5
1976 15 6
1975 30 6
1974 31 0

The history of the first name Brantley

The given name Brantley is an English surname that evolved into a masculine first name. It originated as a place name referring to a hamlet in the county of Suffolk, England. The earliest known recording of the name dates back to the 12th century in the form of "Brantleia" or "Branteleye," which translates to "the clearing by the hill stream" in Old English.

Brantley is a combination of two Old English words: "brant," meaning steep or precipitous, and "leah," meaning a woodland clearing or meadow. This suggests that the name was initially used to describe a settlement located near a steep hill or stream, likely in a wooded area.

While the name's origins can be traced back to medieval England, it was not widely used as a first name until much later. One of the earliest recorded instances of Brantley as a given name was in 1798 when Brantley York was born in North Carolina, United States.

Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Brantley. Brantley Aycock (1727-1818) was an American farmer and Revolutionary War soldier from North Carolina. Brantley Buckner (1897-1983) was a professional baseball player who played for the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1920s. Brantley Gilbert (born 1985) is a contemporary American country music singer and songwriter.

Other famous Brantleys include Brantley Boxill (born 1955), an American philosopher and professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Brantley W. Sanders Jr. (1923-2007), a notable American jurist who served as a judge on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.

While not as popular as some other English names, Brantley has maintained a presence throughout history, particularly in the United States, where it has been used as both a surname and a given name for several centuries.

Data source

The first name data used on this page comes from the Social Security Administration (SSA). They've been collecting data on baby names since 1880.

The history and meaning of the name Brantley was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Brantley, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!

"Brantley first name popularity, history and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on October 31, 2024. http://namecensus.com/first-names/brantley-meaning-and-history/.

"Brantley first name popularity, history and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/first-names/brantley-meaning-and-history/. Accessed 31 October, 2024

Brantley first name popularity, history and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/first-names/brantley-meaning-and-history/.

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