Bret

Where Bret comes from

Wiktionary's etymology listing comes up empty for Bret.

Bret through the years
  1. 1836
    Bret Harte born
    American writer and poet
  2. 1926
    First appearance
    #4,201 among boys with 5 babies, the first year at least five got the name.
  3. 1957
    Around this time: Maverick
    TV, 1957 · Source
  4. 1959
    Peak, #170
    1,839 babies named Bret, the most in any year.
  5. 1961
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births, down to #284.
  6. 1964
    Bret Easton Ellis born
    American novelist, screenwriter
In the dictionary
  • A male given name transferred from the surname, variant of Brett, ultimately meaning "a Breton".
Namesakes
  • Bret Easton Ellis · American novelist, screenwriter, born 1964
  • Bret Harte · American writer and poet, 1836–1902
  • Bret Hart · Canadian-American professional wrestler, writer and actor, born 1957
  • Bret Michaels · American rock musician, born 1963
  • Bret Iwan · American voice actor, born 1982

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record. Events show what happened around then, not why parents chose the name.