Bridgette
A feminine name of French origin meaning "exalted bridge maiden".
Name Census estimates that about 21,797 living Americans carry the first name Bridgette. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Bridgette today is around 42 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Bridgette births was 1970 (629 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Bridgette. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Bridgette with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
22K
~ 1 in 15,725 Americans
Peak year
1970
629 babies that year
Average age
42
years old
1989 SSA rank
#2,232
Tracked since 1943
Census
Bridgette in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 21,503 people with the first name Bridgette, which placed it at #1,533 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
#1,533
National first-name rank
People counted
22K
21,503 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
7.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
56.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bridgette
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Bridgette is White at 56.6%. The next largest groups are Black (28.1%) and Hispanic (9.6%). 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 Bridgette 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 Bridgette at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White56.6% · 12,168
- Black or African American28.1% · 6,047
- Hispanic or Latino9.6% · 2,074
- Two or more races3.8% · 823
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 224
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 167
Gender
Gender distribution for Bridgette
Out of the 23,831 babies given the name Bridgette since 1880, 99.9% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Bridgette as a male name
- Ranked #7,057 in 1989
- 6 male births in 1989
- Peak: 1989 (6 births)
Bridgette as a female name
- Ranked #2,232 in 2024
- 84 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1970 (629 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Bridgette appears almost entirely female. Of the 21,502 people counted with this name, 99.8% were female and only a very small share were male.
Popularity
Bridgette: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Bridgette from the 1940s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 4,967 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Bridgette 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 Bridgette during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Bridgettes live
The SSA's state-level files cover 42 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Bridgette, while South Dakota, Delaware, Idaho recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 485 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Bridgette
The name Bridgette is a feminine form of the masculine name Bridget, which has its origins in the Irish Gaelic language. The name Bridget is derived from the ancient Celtic word "Brighid," which means "the exalted one" or "the sublime one." It was the name of a revered Celtic goddess associated with fire, poetry, and healing.
The name Bridget gained significant popularity in the early days of Christianity in Ireland. St. Bridget, also known as St. Brigid, was a influential figure in the 5th century AD. She is one of Ireland's patron saints and is celebrated for her piety, miracles, and her role in establishing several monasteries. The name became closely associated with her, and many Irish girls were named after her.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Bridgette can be found in the 12th century. Bridgette of Sweden (1303-1373) was a renowned mystic and founder of the Bridgettine Order of nuns. She is revered as a saint in the Catholic Church and is known for her visions and revelations, as well as her ardent devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Throughout history, several notable women have borne the name Bridgette. Bridgette Radebe (1954-2021) was a South African activist and politician who played a significant role in the anti-apartheid movement. Bridgette Wilson (born 1973) is an American actress known for her roles in films like "The Wedding Planner" and "Shopgirl."
Bridgette Andersen (born 1975) is a former American professional swimmer and Olympic medalist. Bridgette Bryant (born 1979) is an American basketball player who played in the WNBA for several teams. Bridgette Duplantis (born 1964) is a former professional tennis player from France who achieved notable success in both singles and doubles competitions.
While the name Bridgette has seen varying levels of popularity over the centuries, it has remained a beloved choice for many parents, particularly in Ireland and other parts of the world with strong Celtic cultural influences. The name carries a rich historical significance and a connection to the revered St. Bridget, making it a cherished moniker with deep roots in Irish and Celtic heritage.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Bridgette
People
Bridgette + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Bridgette 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
Bridgette: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Bridgette?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 21,797 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Bridgette 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 15,725 US residents.
Is Bridgette a common name?
We classify Bridgette as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 23,831 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Bridgette most popular?
The single biggest year for Bridgette was 1970, when 629 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Bridgette is about 42 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Bridgette in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 21,503 people with the name Bridgette, or 7.12 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #1,533 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 Bridgette 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 Bridgette?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Bridgette appears almost entirely female. Of the 21,502 people counted with this name, 99.8% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Bridgette?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Bridgette is White at 56.6%. The next largest groups are Black (28.1%) and Hispanic (9.6%). 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 Bridgette most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Bridgette in the 2020 Census, accounting for 56.6% (12,168 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 Bridgette in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Bridgette a female name?
Yes, 99.9% of people registered as Bridgette 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 Bridgette still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Bridgette 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 Bridgette 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 many people share the name Bridgette?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.