Britley
A feminine name derived from the surname "Britten", meaning "from the meadow settlement".
Name Census estimates that about 171 living Americans carry the first name Britley. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Britley today is around 24 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Britley births was 1990 (19 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Britley. 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
171
~ 1 in 2,004,411 Americans
Peak year
1990
19 babies that year
Average age
24
years old
2021 SSA rank
#11,303
Tracked since 1988
Census
Britley in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 209 people with the first name Britley, which placed it at #37,369 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
#37,369
National first-name rank
People counted
209
209 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
69.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Britley
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Britley is White at 69.9%. The next largest groups are Black (19.6%) and Hispanic (6.2%). 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 Britley 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 Britley at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White69.9% · 146
- Black or African American19.6% · 41
- Hispanic or Latino6.2% · 13
- Two or more races2.9% · 6
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.4% · 3
Popularity
Britley: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Britley from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 62 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
Britley 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 Britley 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 Britley
The name Britley is a relatively modern invention, with no clear roots in any specific language or culture. However, its origins can be traced to a combination of the English words "British" and the suffix "-ley," which is derived from the Old English word "leah," meaning a meadow or clearing.
While there is no definitive evidence of the name's usage in ancient texts or historical records, some linguists speculate that it may have been inspired by the name Brittany, a region in northwestern France. The similarity in sound and spelling could suggest an attempt to create a more unique and modern variation of this traditional name.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Britley date back to the late 20th century, with a few individuals bearing this moniker. One notable figure was Britley Jones, an American artist and sculptor born in 1972, whose works have been exhibited in galleries across the United States.
Another individual named Britley was Britley Wilson, a Canadian politician and social activist who served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 2003 to 2011. Her efforts focused on environmental protection and advocating for marginalized communities.
In the realm of literature, Britley Samuelson was a British author and poet who gained recognition for her acclaimed collection of short stories titled "Fragments of Life," published in 1998. Her work explored themes of identity, belonging, and the complexities of human relationships.
Historically, the name Britley has also been associated with notable figures in the fields of music and sports. Britley Roberts, born in 1985, was a renowned American jazz singer and songwriter, known for her soulful vocals and innovative arrangements.
Additionally, Britley Thompson, a British athlete born in 1978, made a name for herself as a talented sprinter, representing her country in several international competitions and earning multiple medals throughout her career.
While the name Britley may not have deep historical roots or widespread cultural significance, its unique sound and modern appeal have contributed to its growing popularity in recent decades, particularly in English-speaking regions.
People
Britley + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Britley 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
Britley: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Britley?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 171 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Britley 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 2,004,411 US residents.
Is Britley a common name?
We classify Britley as "Very Rare". It ranks above 72.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 175 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Britley most popular?
The single biggest year for Britley was 1990, when 19 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Britley is about 24 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Britley in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 209 people with the name Britley, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #37,369 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 Britley 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 Britley?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Britley leans strongly female. 191 people counted with this name were female (97.9%), compared with 4 male bearers (2.1%). 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 Britley?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Britley is White at 69.9%. The next largest groups are Black (19.6%) and Hispanic (6.2%). 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 Britley most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Britley in the 2020 Census, accounting for 69.9% (146 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 Britley in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Britley a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Britley 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 Britley still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Britley 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 Britley 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 named Britley?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans are named Britley at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.