Bretton
An English given name derived from a British place name.
Name Census estimates that about 1,053 living Americans carry the first name Bretton. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Bretton today is around 32 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Bretton births was 1987 (36 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Bretton. 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
1.1K
~ 1 in 325,503 Americans
Peak year
1987
36 babies that year
Average age
32
years old
2024 SSA rank
#11,103
Tracked since 1958
Popularity
Bretton: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Bretton from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 282 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Bretton 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 Bretton during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Brettons live
Origin
Meaning and history of Bretton
The name Bretton is believed to have its origins in the Old English language, dating back to the Anglo-Saxon period in Britain. It is thought to be derived from the Old English words "breten" or "bryten," which referred to the inhabitants of Britain or the British Isles. These words themselves are believed to have come from the Celtic term "Brittones," which was used by the Romans to describe the Celtic tribes living in what is now England and Wales.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Bretton can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of landowners and tenants in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. In this text, Bretton appears as a place name, referring to various settlements and villages across the country.
The name Bretton gained further prominence during the Middle Ages, particularly in connection with the Breton people of northwestern France. The Bretons were descendants of Celtic Britons who had fled mainland Britain during the Anglo-Saxon invasions of the 5th and 6th centuries. The name Bretton may have been used to refer to individuals from this region or with ties to Breton culture and heritage.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Bretton. One of the earliest was Bretton Vivian (1532–1612), an English politician and member of Parliament during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Another was Bretton Clulow (1687–1748), a British architect who designed several prominent buildings in London, including the Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields.
In the 19th century, Bretton Woods (1812–1857) was an American politician and diplomat who served as the United States Minister to Spain during the presidency of James K. Polk. Bretton Parker (1838–1901) was a British naturalist and explorer who conducted extensive research on the flora and fauna of New Zealand and the Pacific Islands.
More recently, Bretton James (1909–1978) was an American actor and singer who appeared in numerous films and television shows during the Golden Age of Hollywood. Bretton Byrd (1923–2003) was a United States Air Force pilot who flew combat missions during World War II and later became a pioneer in the field of aviation safety.
While the name Bretton has its roots in ancient Britain and the Celtic cultures of Europe, it has been used by individuals from various backgrounds and nationalities throughout history, reflecting the diverse and interconnected nature of human societies.
People
Bretton + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Bretton 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
Bretton: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Bretton?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,053 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Bretton 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 325,503 US residents.
Is Bretton a common name?
We classify Bretton as "Rare". It ranks above 90.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,095 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Bretton most popular?
The single biggest year for Bretton was 1987, when 36 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Bretton is about 32 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Bretton a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Bretton 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.