Brave
Boy name · #3232 in 2025 · Uniqueness 85/100
Brave is currently the #3232 boy name in the United States — 37 babies received it in 2025. A decade ago it stood at #4407, so the name has been rising over the past ten years. Roughly one in every 48,649 boys born in 2025 was named Brave.
Babies named Brave per year, 1880–2025. Source: SSA.
The 17-year story
Brave first appears in the Social Security records in 2008, when 9 boys received the name. Its all-time peak is essentially right now: 2022, with 54 babies and a rank of #2517. Names at their peak can keep climbing — or be one trend cycle from the long slide that eventually hits most popular names. Following the curve matters more than today's snapshot: a name's position on its rise-peak-decline arc is the best predictor of how common it will feel in a kindergarten class five years from now.
Unlock the 5-year forecast and compare Brave against up to 5 other names.
Uniqueness: will there be another Brave in class?
Brave scores 85 out of 100 on our uniqueness scale, which blends current rarity with five-year momentum — putting it in the "rare" band. A high score means genuine rarity — your Brave will likely be the only one in the room, with the occasional spelling-out as the price.
Where Brave is most common
State-level data for Brave is sparse in 2025 — the name's footprint is too small for most states to report (the SSA suppresses counts under 5 per state for privacy).
Names like Brave
Statistically, parents drawn to Brave tend to be choosing among names with similar popularity arcs, era profiles, and sounds — the closest matches in our model are Wolfe, Kree, Peace, Broly, and Breeze.
WolfeKreePeaceBrolyBreezeZaydeCreeBrix
Rank history (last 25 years)
| Year | Babies named Brave | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 37 | #3181 |
| 2024 | 36 | #3272 |
| 2023 | 53 | #2510 |
| 2022 | 54 | #2517 |
| 2021 | 53 | #2499 |
| 2020 | 51 | #2505 |
| 2019 | 41 | #2943 |
| 2018 | 33 | #3373 |
| 2017 | 18 | #5111 |
| 2016 | 30 | #3596 |
| 2015 | 22 | #4407 |
| 2014 | 19 | #4866 |
| 2013 | 15 | #5659 |
| 2012 | 17 | #5256 |
| 2011 | 5 | #12287 |
| 2010 | 7 | #9693 |
| 2009 | 8 | #8985 |
| 2008 | 9 | #8324 |
Frequently asked questions
Is Brave a popular boy name?
Brave ranked #3232 among boys in 2025 with 37 babies given the name — outside the top 500, making it an uncommon pick. Ten years earlier it ranked #4407.
When was the name Brave most popular?
Brave peaked in 2022, when 54 American boys received the name (ranked #2517 that year). That peak is current — the name is at or near its all-time high right now.
How rare is the name Brave?
In 2025, roughly 1 in 48,649 newborn American boys was named Brave. It scores 85/100 on our uniqueness scale (rarity blended with momentum), which we classify as "rare".
Data source: U.S. Social Security Administration name statistics, 1880–2025, national and state files. Counts reflect Social Security card applications; names with fewer than 5 occurrences in a state-year are suppressed by the SSA.