Brayley
From an Old English surname derived from place names meaning "broad clearing or meadow".
Name Census estimates that about 273 living Americans carry the first name Brayley. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Brayley today is around 12 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Brayley births was 2015 (20 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Brayley. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
273
~ 1 in 1,255,510 Americans
Peak year
2015
20 babies that year
Average age
12
years old
2024 SSA rank
#9,015
Tracked since 2002
Popularity
Brayley: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Brayley from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 153 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Brayley remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Brayley by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Brayley during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Brayley
The name Brayley is an English surname that has been used as a given name, particularly in recent times. Its origins can be traced back to the Old English words "bræc" and "lēah," meaning "fern" and "clearing" or "meadow," respectively. This suggests that the name may have initially referred to a person who lived near a fern-covered clearing or meadow.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Brayley can be found in English parish records dating back to the 16th century. One of the earliest documented individuals with this name was Robert Brayley, who was born in Cambridgeshire, England, in the late 16th century.
Throughout history, the name Brayley has been relatively uncommon, with few notable individuals bearing it. However, there are a few examples worth mentioning. In the 18th century, Edward William Brayley (1770-1854) was an English topographer and author who wrote extensively about the history and antiquities of various counties in England.
Another noteworthy individual was Edward Brayley (1801-1870), an English architect and surveyor who was involved in the construction of several notable buildings in London during the 19th century, including the Royal Exchange and the Grosvenor Estate offices.
Moving into the 20th century, Reginald Brayley (1904-1997) was a British politician and Member of Parliament for the Conservative Party, representing the constituency of Bristol North from 1945 to 1950.
In the world of sports, John Brayley (1929-2017) was an English professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper for various clubs, including Sheffield Wednesday and Rotherham United, during the 1950s and 1960s.
Finally, in the field of literature, Christopher Brayley (born 1954) is a British author and screenwriter known for his work on television series such as "Coronation Street" and "Casualty."
While the name Brayley has remained relatively uncommon throughout history, its origins and the individuals who have borne it provide an interesting glimpse into its linguistic and cultural significance within the English-speaking world.
People
Brayley + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Brayley as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with B
Other first names starting with B with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Brayley: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Brayley?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 273 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Brayley going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,255,510 US residents.
Is Brayley a common name?
We classify Brayley as "Very Rare". It ranks above 78.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 275 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Brayley most popular?
The single biggest year for Brayley was 2015, when 20 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Brayley is about 12 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Brayley a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Brayley in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.