Brodrick
A masculine name derived from an English surname meaning "dweller by the broad ridge".
Name Census estimates that about 1,709 living Americans carry the first name Brodrick. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Brodrick today is around 33 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Brodrick births was 1989 (56 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Brodrick. 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
1.7K
~ 1 in 200,558 Americans
Peak year
1989
56 babies that year
Average age
33
years old
2023 SSA rank
#6,589
Tracked since 1956
Census
Brodrick in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,233 people with the first name Brodrick, which placed it at #10,685 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
#10,685
National first-name rank
People counted
1.2K
1,233 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
59.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Brodrick
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Brodrick is Black at 59.9%. The next largest groups are White (30.4%) and Two or More Races (4.3%). 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 Brodrick 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 Brodrick at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American59.9% · 739
- White30.4% · 375
- Two or more races4.3% · 53
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 47
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 9
Popularity
Brodrick: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Brodrick 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 430 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
Brodrick 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 Brodrick during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Brodricks live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. Texas, Louisiana, Florida recorded the most babies named Brodrick, while Mississippi, California, Georgia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 92 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Brodrick
The name Brodrick is believed to have originated from the Old English language, with roots dating back to the Anglo-Saxon period in Britain. It is derived from the words "brod," meaning "broad," and "ric," meaning "powerful" or "ruler." Thus, the name Brodrick can be interpreted as "broad ruler" or "powerful leader."
During the Middle Ages, the name Brodrick was primarily found in regions of England, particularly in the northern counties. It was commonly used among the Anglo-Saxon nobility and landowners, reflecting their status and authority. However, the name's popularity declined after the Norman Conquest in 1066, as many traditional Anglo-Saxon names were replaced by Norman French names.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Brodrick can be found in the Domesday Book, a detailed survey of land ownership in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The name appears in various spellings, such as Broderic, Brodrik, and Broderick, indicating its longstanding presence in the region.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Brodrick. One of the most famous was Brodrick the Saxon, a prominent landowner and military leader during the reign of King Edward the Confessor in the 11th century. He played a crucial role in defending England against Viking invasions and was highly regarded for his bravery and strategic prowess.
Another notable figure was Brodrick Annersley (1637-1686), an English politician and member of Parliament during the 17th century. He was known for his involvement in the Glorious Revolution of 1688, which led to the overthrow of King James II and the establishment of the constitutional monarchy in England.
In the 18th century, Brodrick Hartwell (1715-1789) was a renowned English architect and surveyor. He designed several notable buildings, including the Royal Pavilion in Brighton, and was also involved in the construction of the famous Eddystone Lighthouse off the coast of Cornwall.
During the 19th century, Brodrick Cloete (1816-1898) was a prominent South African politician and author. He served as a member of the Cape Colony Parliament and played a significant role in shaping the region's political landscape. His writings, which included novels and historical accounts, provided valuable insights into the cultural and social dynamics of South Africa during that time.
One of the most recent historical figures with the name Brodrick was Brodrick Haldane (1876-1965), a British naval officer and diplomat. He served in the Royal Navy during World War I and later held various diplomatic positions, including Ambassador to Spain and Portugal.
While the name Brodrick has fallen out of widespread use in modern times, its rich history and deep-rooted connections to the Anglo-Saxon culture and nobility make it a fascinating and unique name with a strong sense of tradition and power.
People
Brodrick + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Brodrick 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
Brodrick: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Brodrick?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,709 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Brodrick 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 200,558 US residents.
Is Brodrick a common name?
We classify Brodrick as "Rare". It ranks above 93% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,779 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Brodrick most popular?
The single biggest year for Brodrick was 1989, when 56 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Brodrick is about 33 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Brodrick in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,233 people with the name Brodrick, or 0.41 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #10,685 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 Brodrick 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 Brodrick?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Brodrick appears almost entirely male. Of the 1,233 people counted with this name, 99.8% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Brodrick?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Brodrick is Black at 59.9%. The next largest groups are White (30.4%) and Two or More Races (4.3%). 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 Brodrick most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Brodrick in the 2020 Census, accounting for 59.9% (739 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 Brodrick in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Brodrick a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Brodrick 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.
Is Brodrick still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Brodrick 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 Brodrick 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 Brodrick?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.