Names › Boy › B › Bret
Boy name

Bret

/ˈbɹɛt/ · 99% boys · 20 born in 2025

Bret has been given to about 30,051 people in the United States since 1880. It was most common in 1959, which makes it a midcentury name.

Meaning—
Origin—
Syllables1
Pronunciation/ˈbɹɛt/
Nicknames—
Living in the US≈ 26,340
Median age today52 years

Popularity, 1880–2025

Babies named Bret per year · SSA, ONS, NRS, CSO, INSEE and SSB
18802025
United StatesEngland & WalesScotlandeach scaled to its own peak
  • Peak year1959 · 1,839
  • Born in 202520
  • All time30,051

How popular is Bret?

Its best year was 1959, when 1,839 babies were given the name, ranking 170th. The typical living American called Bret is about 52 years old today.

Names that sound like Bret

Phonetic similarity, 0–1
  1. Brett0.90
  2. Brent0.79
  3. Barrett0.67
  4. Chet0.62
  5. Garret0.60
  6. Bert0.56
  7. Britt0.57
  8. Garnet0.55

Middle names for Bret

Ranked by flow score
  1. Bret James0.74
  2. Bret Cole0.73
  3. Bret Miles0.73
  4. Bret Wilder0.72
  5. Bret Thomas0.64
  6. Bret Paul0.55

Sibling names for Bret

Same era, comparable use, no clash
  1. Rockybrother · 0.89
  2. Claybrother · 0.89
  3. Wadebrother · 0.86
  4. Angiesister · 0.86
  5. Heidisister · 0.86
  6. Jolenesister · 0.85

Where Bret is strongest

Share of 2025 births by state

    With a common surname

    Flow score against the most-used American surnames · try your own
    1. Bret Anderson0.73
    2. Bret Allen0.73
    3. Bret Adams0.73
    4. Bret Evans0.70
    5. Bret Edwards0.70
    6. Bret Wilson0.69

    How to read these numbers

    Every score on this page is explained
    1. Phonetic similarity0–1
    2. Middle-name flow0–1
    3. Sibling fit0–1
    4. Living population estimatemethod
    5. PronunciationCMU dictionary

    Sources for Bret

    Every figure on this page is public record
    1. United States1880–2025
    2. England & Wales1996–2025
    3. Scotland1974–2020
    4. PronunciationCMU dictionary

    Source: US Social Security Administration, national and state name files, 2025 release, and the Office for National Statistics for England and Wales. Etymology researched and written by our editors. Living-population and median-age figures are our own estimates, described in the methodology.