Bridgid
A feminine name of Irish origin meaning "exalted one" or "strength".
Name Census estimates that about 402 living Americans carry the first name Bridgid. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Bridgid today is around 46 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Bridgid births was 1981 (16 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Bridgid. 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
402
~ 1 in 852,623 Americans
Peak year
1981
16 babies that year
Average age
46
years old
2008 SSA rank
#15,734
Tracked since 1955
Census
Bridgid in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 481 people with the first name Bridgid, which placed it at #21,195 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
#21,195
National first-name rank
People counted
481
481 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
89.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bridgid
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Bridgid is White at 89.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Black (2.9%). 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 Bridgid 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 Bridgid at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.2% · 429
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 18
- Black or African American2.9% · 14
- Two or more races2.7% · 13
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.5% · 7
Popularity
Bridgid: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Bridgid from the 1950s through to the 2000s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 114 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1980s peak, Bridgid remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Bridgid 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 Bridgid 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 Bridgid
The name Bridgid has its origins in the Celtic culture of Ireland, dating back to the early medieval period. It is derived from the Old Irish Bríg, meaning "exalted one" or "powerful woman." This name was originally associated with the Irish pagan goddess Brighid, who was revered as the patroness of poetry, healing, and smithcraft.
In the 5th century, Bridgid became a popular name among Christians in Ireland due to its association with Saint Brigid of Kildare, one of the patron saints of Ireland. St. Brigid is known for her compassion, hospitality, and healing abilities, and her feast day is celebrated on February 1st.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Bridgid can be found in the 7th century Irish manuscript known as the Book of Armagh, which contains a collection of works related to St. Patrick and the early Christian church in Ireland.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Bridgid. Bridgid of Sweden (c. 1303-1373) was a mystic and saint who founded the Brigittine Order of nuns. Bridgid Saunders (c. 1587-1603) was an English Catholic martyr who was executed for her faith during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.
Another famous Bridgid was Bridgid Binder (1936-2022), an acclaimed Irish actress and singer who starred in numerous films, plays, and television shows throughout her career. Bridgid of York (c. 650-668) was a princess and abbess in the Kingdom of Northumbria, known for her piety and wisdom.
In the literary realm, Bridgid Brophy (1929-1995) was a celebrated English novelist, critic, and biographer, known for her works exploring feminist themes and social issues.
While the name Bridgid has deep roots in Celtic and Christian traditions, it has also gained popularity in various cultures around the world, often with slight variations in spelling or pronunciation.
People
Bridgid + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Bridgid 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
Bridgid: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Bridgid?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 402 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Bridgid 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 852,623 US residents.
Is Bridgid a common name?
We classify Bridgid as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 446 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Bridgid most popular?
The single biggest year for Bridgid was 1981, when 16 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Bridgid is about 46 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Bridgid in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 481 people with the name Bridgid, or 0.16 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #21,195 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 Bridgid 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 Bridgid?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Bridgid appears almost entirely female. Of the 486 people counted with this name, 100.0% 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 Bridgid?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Bridgid is White at 89.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.7%) and Black (2.9%). 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 Bridgid most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Bridgid in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.2% (429 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 Bridgid in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Bridgid a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Bridgid 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 Bridgid still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Bridgid 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 Bridgid 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 are called Bridgid?
Find out how many Americans are named Bridgid on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.