Bre
Diminutive form of the English word "breath" or short for Bridget.
Name Census estimates that about 446 living Americans carry the first name Bre. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Bre today is around 29 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Bre births was 2006 (31 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Bre. 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
446
~ 1 in 768,507 Americans
Peak year
2006
31 babies that year
Average age
29
years old
2023 SSA rank
#13,726
Tracked since 1972
Census
Bre in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,955 people with the first name Bre, which placed it at #7,691 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#7,691
National first-name rank
People counted
2.0K
1,955 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
51.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bre
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Bre is White at 51.5%. The next largest groups are Black (31.7%) and Hispanic (8.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Bre described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Bre at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White51.5% · 1,006
- Black or African American31.7% · 619
- Hispanic or Latino8.6% · 168
- Two or more races5.1% · 100
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.2% · 43
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 19
Popularity
Bre: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Bre from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 142 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Bre 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 Bre during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Bres live
Origin
Meaning and history of Bre
The name Bre has its origins in the Old Norse language, dating back to the 9th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old Norse word "breiðr," which means "broad" or "wide." This could suggest a connection to physical attributes or perhaps a reference to a broad or expansive landscape.
During the Viking Age, the name Bre was prevalent among the Norse people who inhabited Scandinavia and parts of northern Europe. It was a common name among warriors and seafarers, who valued strength and bravery. The name may have been used to symbolize power or resilience.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Bre can be found in the Icelandic sagas, which are historical narratives that chronicle the lives and adventures of Norse settlers in Iceland during the 9th and 10th centuries. The name appears in the Saga of Grettir the Strong, featuring a character named Bre the Grim, who was known for his fearlessness and combat skills.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Bre. One of the most famous was Bre the Wise, a renowned Norse scholar and poet who lived in the 11th century. He was renowned for his vast knowledge of Norse mythology and literature, and his works were widely studied and preserved.
Another notable figure was Bre the Bold, a Viking explorer who is believed to have sailed to the shores of North America in the late 10th century, predating the voyages of Christopher Columbus by several centuries. His daring exploits were celebrated in Norse legends and folklore.
In the 13th century, Bre the Brave was a prominent Norse chieftain who led his people in battles against invading forces. His bravery and leadership skills were widely praised, and he became a symbol of Norse resistance and resilience.
Bre the Storyteller was a renowned bard and storyteller from the 14th century, whose tales and poems captured the imagination of audiences across Scandinavia. His works were passed down through generations, preserving the rich cultural heritage of the Norse people.
While the name Bre has its roots in the Old Norse language, it has since been adopted and adapted by various cultures around the world, each with their own interpretations and associations. However, the historical significance and legacy of this name remains deeply ingrained in the Norse tradition, celebrating values of strength, courage, and resilience.
People
Bre + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Bre 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
Bre: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Bre?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 446 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Bre 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 768,507 US residents.
Is Bre a common name?
We classify Bre as "Very Rare". It ranks above 83.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 461 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Bre most popular?
The single biggest year for Bre was 2006, when 31 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Bre is about 29 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Bre in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,955 people with the name Bre, or 0.65 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #7,691 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Bre in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Bre?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Bre leans strongly female. 1,882 people counted with this name were female (96.6%), compared with 66 male bearers (3.4%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Bre?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Bre is White at 51.5%. The next largest groups are Black (31.7%) and Hispanic (8.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Bre most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Bre in the 2020 Census, accounting for 51.5% (1,006 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Bre in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Bre a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Bre 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.
Is Bre still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Bre in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Bre can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
How common is the name Bre?
See how many people share the name Bre on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.