Bret

Last seen for girls in 2011 at #14,824 · #4,857 for boys in 2025, 20 births
Given to boys 99.2% of the time

Showing
Show data for
Peak · boys
1959 · 1,839 births
Debut · boys
5 births
In top 100 · boys
never
of 146 years
Total births · boys
29,819
since 1926

Bret over time

boys

Rank among boys' names. Bret has never cracked the top 100 here.

#1#10#100#1,000#10,000rank188019001920194019601980200020201956peak #170, 1959boys
Hover or use arrow keys to read values by year; click or press Enter to open that year.

Gaps mean fewer than 5 babies received the name that year, so the SSA doesn't publish it.

Show data table
Yeargirlsboys
rankbirthsrankbirths
2025—#4,85720
2024—#4,70121
2023—#4,00227
2022—#4,44223
2021—#4,49422
2020—#5,23517
2019—#4,63921
2018—#3,30134
2017—#4,33123
2016—#3,35833
2015—#3,36533
2014—#2,66145
2013—#2,89539
2012—#2,81142
2011#14,8246#1,92772
2010—#1,71389
2009—#1,63896
2008—#1,380123
2007#13,9247#1,464109
2006—#1,51999
2005#13,0107#1,093151
2004—#1,022160
2003—#956171
2002#12,1877#868189
2001—#714246
2000#10,7458#657274
1999#12,6886#580335
1998#9,2609#604305
1997#8,33410#614285
1996#7,13012#543350
1995#6,25714#519388
1994#5,01619#494414
1993#8,7199#507405
1992—#468463
1991—#432516
1990#12,9585#418546
1989#12,3625#398545
1988#7,11110#410487
1987#5,61313#365536
1986#5,45913#366509
1985#6,03111#365502
1984#10,4225#381458
1983#6,21210#352504
1982#9,2376#2171,098
1981#5,57112#342532
1980#10,3925#400410
1979—#359490
1978—#396381
1977—#385415
1976—#341505
1975—#359462
1974—#342509
1973—#322541
1972#8,2925#293628
1971#7,3886#284734
1970#6,3627#260871
1969—#264791
1968#7,0165#246841
1967—#243837
1966—#243860
1965—#274743
1964—#275786
1963—#274787
1962—#274787
1961—#284741
1960—#2231,242
1959—#1701,839
1958—#1871,514
1957—#556194
1956—#83181
1955—#76391
1954—#79582
1953—#96655
1952—#1,04448
1951—#1,48925
1950—#1,23234
1949—#1,46225
1948—#1,70319
1947—#1,39428
1946—#2,14312
1945—#2,24210
1944—#2,6338
1943—#2,18212
1942——
1941—#2,4919
1940—#2,32210
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1926—#4,2015
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First appearance
1926

The first year at least five boys were named Bret! It came in at #4,201, and was given to 5 baby boys.


Quietest stretch: 1926–1939, when fewer than 6 boys a year got the name.

Where Bret is popular in 1956

  • Rank in state
  • Top 10
  • 11–50
  • 51–100
  • 101–500
  • 501+
  • Not published
Alaska: fewer than 5 boys named Bret, so not publishedAKMaine: fewer than 5 boys named Bret, so not publishedMEVermont: fewer than 5 boys named Bret, so not publishedVTNew Hampshire: fewer than 5 boys named Bret, so not publishedNHWashington: fewer than 5 boys named Bret, so not publishedWAIdaho: fewer than 5 boys named Bret, so not publishedIDMontana: fewer than 5 boys named Bret, so not publishedMTNorth Dakota: fewer than 5 boys named Bret, so not publishedNDMinnesota: fewer than 5 boys named Bret, so not publishedMNIllinois: fewer than 5 boys named Bret, so not publishedILWisconsin: fewer than 5 boys named Bret, so not publishedWIMichigan: fewer than 5 boys named Bret, so not publishedMINew York: #779 for boys · 6 births · 1 in 29,379 boysNYMassachusetts: fewer than 5 boys named Bret, so not publishedMARhode Island: fewer than 5 boys named Bret, so not publishedRIOregon: fewer than 5 boys named Bret, so not publishedORNevada: fewer than 5 boys named Bret, so not publishedNVWyoming: fewer than 5 boys named Bret, so not publishedWYSouth Dakota: fewer than 5 boys named Bret, so not publishedSDIowa: fewer than 5 boys named Bret, so not publishedIAIndiana: fewer than 5 boys named Bret, so not publishedINOhio: fewer than 5 boys named Bret, so not publishedOHPennsylvania: fewer than 5 boys named Bret, so not publishedPANew Jersey: fewer than 5 boys named Bret, so not publishedNJConnecticut: fewer than 5 boys named Bret, so not publishedCTCalifornia: #508 for boys · 18 births · 1 in 9,320 boysCAUtah: fewer than 5 boys named Bret, so not publishedUTColorado: fewer than 5 boys named Bret, so not publishedCONebraska: fewer than 5 boys named Bret, so not publishedNEMissouri: fewer than 5 boys named Bret, so not publishedMOKentucky: fewer than 5 boys named Bret, so not publishedKYWest Virginia: fewer than 5 boys named Bret, so not publishedWVVirginia: fewer than 5 boys named Bret, so not publishedVAMaryland: fewer than 5 boys named Bret, so not publishedMDDelaware: fewer than 5 boys named Bret, so not publishedDEArizona: fewer than 5 boys named Bret, so not publishedAZNew Mexico: fewer than 5 boys named Bret, so not publishedNMKansas: #330 for boys · 5 births · 1 in 4,954 boysKSArkansas: fewer than 5 boys named Bret, so not publishedARTennessee: fewer than 5 boys named Bret, so not publishedTNNorth Carolina: fewer than 5 boys named Bret, so not publishedNCSouth Carolina: fewer than 5 boys named Bret, so not publishedSCDistrict of Columbia: fewer than 5 boys named Bret, so not publishedDCOklahoma: fewer than 5 boys named Bret, so not publishedOKLouisiana: fewer than 5 boys named Bret, so not publishedLAMississippi: fewer than 5 boys named Bret, so not publishedMSAlabama: fewer than 5 boys named Bret, so not publishedALGeorgia: fewer than 5 boys named Bret, so not publishedGAHawaii: fewer than 5 boys named Bret, so not publishedHITexas: #996 for boys · 5 births · 1 in 24,776 boysTXFlorida: fewer than 5 boys named Bret, so not publishedFL

Hover or tap a state for its numbers.

Top states · boys
  1. Kansas#330 · 1 in 4,954
  2. California#508 · 1 in 9,320
  3. New York#779 · 1 in 29,379
  4. Texas#996 · 1 in 24,776

Best ever in a state: #25 in Utah, 1958.

Show every state
StateRankBirthsShare
Kansas#33051 in 4,954
California#508181 in 9,320
New York#77961 in 29,379
Texas#99651 in 24,776
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Ranks are within each state; “1 in N” is out of the boys born there that year. The SSA only publishes a name in a state when 5 or more babies of one sex got it.

See more about Bret
Momentum · boys
Holding steady
  • 156 spots since 2024 (#4,701 → #4,857)
  • 378 spots since 2020 (#5,235 → #4,857)
  • 1,492 spots since 2015 (#3,365 → #4,857)
  • Biggest jump: 369 spots in 1958 (#556 → #187)
  • Biggest drop: 154 spots in 2002 (#714 → #868)
Rise & fade · boys
33 yrs to peak
  • Debuted 1926
  • Peaked 1959 at #170 (1,839 births)
  • Births halved by 1961, 2 yrs later
Top of the charts · boys
Top 1,000 for 51 yrs
  • Top 10: never
  • Top 100: never
  • Top 1,000: 51 yrs · run 1953–2003
Share of babies · boys
1 in 1,161
  • Highest: 1 in 1,161 boys born in 1959 were named Bret (0.09%)
  • Latest: 1 in 85,404 boys born in 2025 (0.00%)
Era · boys
The 1960s
  • 28.2% of all boys named Bret (8,415) were born in this decade
Show by decade
DecadeBirthsBest rankAvg rank
1920s5#4,201 (1926)#4,201
1930s0——
1940s133#1,394 (1947)#2,064
1950s3,963#170 (1959)#803
1960s8,415#223 (1960)#260
1970s5,536#260 (1970)#334
1980s5,581#217 (1982)#360
1990s4,007#418 (1990)#518
2000s1,618#657 (2000)#1,131
2010s431#1,713 (2010)#3,100
2020s130#4,002 (2023)#4,622

All figures count published births only (names given to at least 5 boys in a year). Registrations before 1937 are incomplete, so early shares and totals run low.

Bret in 1956

boys
#831
81 births · 1 in 26,115 boys

Top boys' names in 1956

  1. #1Michael90,691
  2. #2James84,897
  3. #3Robert83,924
  4. #4David81,652
  5. #5John80,804
  6. #6William58,991
  7. #7Richard52,915
  8. #8Mark48,828
  9. #9Thomas44,836
  10. #10Steven38,413
  11. #831Bret81
More about 1956

boys

2,115,302 boys got a published name in 1956; 1 in 26,115 of them was named Bret, which outranked 81.3% of the 4,455 boys' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 31.5% of boys (44.2% in 1880, 8.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Bret
  1. #822Omar82
  2. #822Raleigh82
  3. #822Rubin82
  4. #831Bret81
  5. #831Gaylord81
  6. #833Art80
  7. #833Boyce80
  8. #833Burl80

Tied names share a rank, as in SSA's lists.

Biggest movers since 1955
Risers
  1. ↑ 1,847Jace#2,764 → #917
  2. ↑ 678Rich#1,572 → #894
  3. ↑ 590Broderick#1,273 → #683
  4. ↑ 559Elvis#921 → #362
  5. ↑ 513Tracey#1,419 → #906
Fallers
  1. ↓ 351Adolphus#906 → #1,257
  2. ↓ 336Randolf#949 → #1,285
  3. ↓ 279Cordell#792 → #1,071
  4. ↓ 272Rudolfo#885 → #1,157
  5. ↓ 269Aurelio#949 → #1,218

Among names in the top 1,000 of either year.

See the top 100 for 1956 →