2000
#200
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 131,289
First available Census row
Per 100,000 48.67
Common Last name
Bradley
An English locational surname derived from various places meaning "broad clearing" or "wide wood" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 149,678 Americans carry the last name Bradley. That puts it at #218 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 43.67 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,290 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Bradley surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Bradley with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
150K
1 in 2,290
Census rank
#218
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
43.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
131K
common in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 130,526 bearers of the surname Bradley in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 43.67 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 218th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Bradley, the largest self-reported group is White at 66.2%. The next largest groups are Black (24.6%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Bradley
The surname BRADLEY is of English origin and dates back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Old English words "brad" meaning broad and "leah" meaning a meadow or clearing, referring to someone who lived near a broad clearing or meadow.
The name first appeared in records around the 12th century in various parts of England, particularly in the counties of Lancashire, Cheshire, and Staffordshire. It was initially spelled in different ways such as Bradelei, Bradelee, and Bradeley before settling on the modern form of BRADLEY.
One of the earliest known references to the name BRADLEY can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which recorded landowners and their properties in England at the time of the Norman Conquest. The name is also mentioned in various medieval charters and rolls from the 12th and 13th centuries.
Some notable historical figures with the surname BRADLEY include Sir Francis BRADLEY (1588-1654), an English politician and member of Parliament during the reign of King Charles I, and William BRADLEY (1757-1833), an English navigator and explorer who accompanied Captain James Cook on his third voyage to the Pacific Ocean.
In the United States, one of the earliest recorded instances of the name BRADLEY is that of Daniel BRADLEY (1626-1675), a Puritan settler who arrived in New England in the 17th century and became one of the founders of the town of Haverhill, Massachusetts.
Other prominent individuals with the surname BRADLEY include Omar BRADLEY (1893-1981), a highly decorated American general who served during World War II and later became the first Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Bill BRADLEY (born 1943), a former professional basketball player and U.S. Senator from New Jersey.
The surname BRADLEY has also been associated with various place names in England, such as Bradeley Green in Staffordshire and Bradeley Hall in Cheshire, reflecting the original meaning of the name as a "broad clearing" or "meadow."
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bradley
Among Census respondents with the surname Bradley, the largest self-reported group is White at 66.2%. The next largest groups are Black (24.6%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Bradley bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Bradley surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White66.2% · 86,365
- Black or African American24.6% · 32,064
- Two or more races4.5% · 5,915
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 4,343
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 1,047
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 792
Timeline
Historical Census data for Bradley
Bradley appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#208
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 136,720
+5,431 bearers (+4.1%)
Per 100,000 46.35
Rank movement Down 8 places
2020
#218
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 130,526
-6,194 bearers (-4.5%)
Per 100,000 43.67
Rank movement Down 10 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #200 | 131,289 | 48.67 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #208 | 136,720 | 46.35 | +5,431 bearers (+4.1%) | Down 8 places |
| 2020 | #218 | 130,526 | 43.67 | -6,194 bearers (-4.5%) | Down 10 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Bradley surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #208 | #218 | -4.8% |
| Count | 136,720 | 130,526 | -4.5% |
| Per 100K | 46.35 | 43.67 | -5.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Bradley bearers went from 136,720 to 130,526 (-4.5% change). The surname moved down 10 positions in the national ranking, going from #208 to #218.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Bradley
FAQ
Bradley surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Bradley?
Name Census estimates that about 149,678 living Americans carry the surname Bradley. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,290 residents.
How common is Bradley?
Bradley ranks #218 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Common." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 43.67 per 100,000 residents, which is about 44 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 130,526 people with the surname Bradley. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (149,678), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 43.67 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 43.67 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 44 of them to have the surname Bradley.
Has Bradley become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Bradley went from 136,720 recorded bearers to 130,526. That is a decrease of 6,194 (-4.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #208 to #218.
What does the Census say about the background of Bradley?
Among Census respondents with the surname Bradley, the largest self-reported group is White at 66.2%. The next largest groups are Black (24.6%) and Two or More Races (4.5%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Bradley in the 2020 Census, accounting for 66.2% (86,365 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Bradley appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (66.2%), Black (24.6%), Two or More Races (4.5%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Bradley (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Bradley mean?
An English locational surname derived from various places meaning "broad clearing" or "wide wood" in Old English. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Bradley (43.67 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How common is the surname Bradley?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans have the surname Bradley at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.