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.

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!

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.

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