Recorded 1926–2025 · United States
Brett was most popular in 1986, when 4,904 American babies were given the name — ranking #131 that year. In 2025 it ranked #2,772, with 144 births. Across 1880–2025 the Social Security Administration has recorded 162,513 people named Brett.
Brett first appears in Social Security Administration records in 1926, which makes it about 99 years old as a recorded American name. It has been recorded in 94 of the 100 years since.
The Social Security Administration has recorded 162,513 American births named Brett between 1880 and 2025. That is recorded US births, not a world population — it counts people issued a Social Security number at birth in the United States. Of those, roughly 149,109 are estimated to be alive today.
144 American babies were named Brett in 2025, ranking #2,772 that year.
Brett is falling. Across 2021–2025 it averaged 205 births a year, against 414 a year across 2011–2015 — a change of -51% over the decade.
Measured on recorded births. American births overall have fallen since 2007, so most established names lose births over any recent decade — a name can shed births and still hold its rank. Compare the rank above, which is measured against the other names of the same year.
Across the whole record Brett is a boy’s name — 2.1% of the 162,513 Americans given it were girls and 97.9% were boys. In births since 2016 it is 6% girls and 94% boys.
Counted from every US birth the Social Security Administration recorded under this name, so it reflects use rather than opinion. A name given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a year is withheld at source and is not counted.
Roughly 149,109 Americans named Brett are alive today — 92% of everyone ever recorded with the name. The median is 41 years old, and half are between 32 and 53.
An estimate, not a count. Recorded births are carried forward through the Social Security Administration’s 2023 period life table, by age and sex. That table describes mortality in one recent year, so it credits the oldest cohorts with today’s survival rather than the harsher rates they actually lived through — the further back a name peaked, the more this will overstate how many remain. It counts people issued a Social Security number at birth, not immigrants who arrived later.
Old French · "a Breton"
How much more common the name is in each state than across the country as a whole.
See Brett on the interactive charts
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Source: U.S.A. Social Security Administration. Years 1880–2025. namelegacy.org