Bridgit
A feminine given name of Irish/Celtic origin meaning "exalted one".
Name Census estimates that about 1,165 living Americans carry the first name Bridgit. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Bridgit today is around 42 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Bridgit births was 1966 (41 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Bridgit. 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
1.2K
~ 1 in 294,210 Americans
Peak year
1966
41 babies that year
Average age
42
years old
2016 SSA rank
#11,977
Tracked since 1955
Popularity
Bridgit: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Bridgit from the 1950s through to the 2010s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 297 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1970s peak, Bridgit remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Bridgit 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 Bridgit during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Bridgits live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. New York, California, Illinois recorded the most babies named Bridgit, while Texas, Minnesota, Illinois recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 10 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Bridgit
The name Bridgit is derived from the Irish Gaelic language and has its origins in ancient Celtic culture. The name likely comes from the Old Irish words "brig" or "bri," meaning strength or power, and "idt," which was a diminutive suffix. The original spelling was "Brighid," with the modern English spelling of "Bridgit" emerging later.
One of the earliest and most significant historical references to the name Bridgit comes from the ancient Celtic goddess Brighid, who was celebrated as the goddess of poetry, healing, and smithcraft. Brighid was one of the most revered deities in ancient Irish mythology, and her name eventually transitioned into a popular given name for girls.
The earliest recorded use of the name Bridgit as a personal name dates back to the 5th century AD, with the birth of Saint Brigid of Kildare (c. 451-525). Saint Brigid was an Irish nun who founded several monasteries and is venerated as one of the patron saints of Ireland. Her name helped popularize the name Bridgit throughout Ireland and other parts of the British Isles.
Another notable figure in history with the name Bridgit was Bridget of Sweden (1303-1373), a Swedish princess and founder of the Bridgettine Order of nuns. She was later canonized as Saint Bridget of Sweden and is widely revered in Sweden and other parts of Scandinavia.
The name Bridgit also appears in several ancient Irish texts and manuscripts, such as the Book of Leinster and the Book of Invasions, further solidifying its historical significance in Celtic culture.
Other famous individuals with the name Bridgit throughout history include:
1. Bridgit Borcher (c. 1500-1530), a German Protestant martyr executed during the Reformation.
2. Bridget Cleary (c. 1868-1895), an Irish woman who was killed in a brutal case of witch-burning in rural Ireland.
3. Bridget Boland (1913-1988), an Irish politician and the first woman to be elected to the Irish Senate.
4. Bridgit Mendler (born 1992), an American actress and singer best known for her role in the Disney Channel series "Good Luck Charlie."
5. Bridgit Zengeni (born 1980), a Zimbabwean professional golfer who has competed on the Ladies European Tour.
People
Bridgit + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Bridgit 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
Bridgit: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Bridgit?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,165 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Bridgit 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 294,210 US residents.
Is Bridgit a common name?
We classify Bridgit as "Rare". It ranks above 91.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,275 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Bridgit most popular?
The single biggest year for Bridgit was 1966, when 41 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Bridgit is about 42 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Bridgit a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Bridgit 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.
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.