Brently
From an English surname meaning "place of the deep burned land".
Name Census estimates that about 1,386 living Americans carry the first name Brently. It is a predominantly male name (98.7% of registrations). The average person named Brently today is around 21 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Brently births was 2014 (121 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Brently. 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
1.4K
~ 1 in 247,298 Americans
Peak year
2014
121 babies that year
Average age
21
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,899
Tracked since 1960
Gender
Gender distribution for Brently
Brently leans heavily male at 98.7% of total registrations, but 18 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Brently as a male name
- Ranked #4,899 in 2024
- 20 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2014 (121 births)
Brently as a female name
- Ranked #17,340 in 2012
- 5 female births in 2012
- Peak: 2010 (7 births)
Popularity
Brently: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Brently from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 749 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Brently 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 Brently during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Brentlys live
The SSA's state-level files cover 18 states and territories. Tennessee, Ohio, Texas recorded the most babies named Brently, while Pennsylvania, Illinois, Michigan recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 16 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Brently
The name Brently is an English given name that originated in the late 19th century. It is a variant of the surname Brent, which is derived from the Old English words "brant" meaning "steep" or "burn" and "leah" meaning "woodland glade." The name Brently was likely created by combining the surname Brent with the suffix "-ly," which was a common practice during that time period.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Brently was in 1886, when it appeared in the book "The American Bookseller" by Charles E. Matlack. However, it remained relatively uncommon until the mid-20th century.
Historically, the name Brently has not been associated with any significant figures or events. However, there have been a few notable individuals who have carried this name throughout the years.
Brently Willard Summers (1907-1989) was an American businessman and philanthropist from Oregon. He made his fortune in the lumber industry and was known for his charitable contributions to various educational institutions.
Brently Waling (1924-2010) was a Canadian artist and sculptor from British Columbia. He was best known for his bronze sculptures of wildlife and Indigenous peoples.
Brently Spriggs (1904-1987) was a British actor and singer who appeared in several West End productions in the 1930s and 1940s.
Brently Chambers (1927-2001) was an American author and journalist who wrote several books on gardening and horticulture.
Brently Ewell (1891-1972) was an American baseball player who played outfield for the Philadelphia Athletics in the 1910s and 1920s.
Overall, the name Brently is a relatively modern English name that has been in use for over a century, although it has never been particularly common. While it has not been associated with any major historical figures or events, it has been carried by a few notable individuals throughout the years, primarily in the fields of business, arts, and sports.
People
Brently + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Brently 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
Brently: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Brently?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,386 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Brently 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 247,298 US residents.
Is Brently a common name?
We classify Brently as "Rare". It ranks above 92% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,423 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Brently most popular?
The single biggest year for Brently was 2014, when 121 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Brently is about 21 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Brently a male name?
Yes, 98.7% of people registered as Brently in the SSA data are male. 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.