Girl · #643 in 2026

Bristol

Bristol is a city and ceremonial county in South West England. It is on the River Avon, and bordered by Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south, with a short coastline on the Bristol Channel to the west. The county includes most of the Bristol conurbation, but the urban area extends into South Gloucestershire, Bath and North East Somerset, and North Somerset.

  • English
Current Rank
#643
Peak Rank
#390 (2019)
Total Babies
12K
5-Yr Trend
-23%
1973
First Year
2026
Last Year
2019
Peak Year
#390
Peak Rank
12K
Total Count
45
Years Active

Meaning & Origin of Bristol

What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.

Bristol is a city and ceremonial county in South West England. It is on the River Avon, and bordered by Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south, with a short coastline on the Bristol Channel to the west. The county includes most of the Bristol conurbation, but the urban area extends into South Gloucestershire, Bath and North East Somerset, and North Somerset.

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →

Cultural Origins (via Behind the Name)

  • English
Origin & history
Main articles: History of Bristol and Timeline of Bristol Archaeological finds, including flint tools believed to be between 300,000 and 126,000 years old made with the Levallois technique , indicate the presence of Neanderthals in the Shirehampton and St Annes areas of Bristol during the Middle Palaeolithic . Iron Age hill forts near the city are at Leigh Woods and Clifton Down , on the side of the Avon Gorge , and on Kings Weston Hill near Henbury . A Roman port, Portus Abonae (Avonport) – abbreviated to Abona in the Antonine Itinerary , existed at what is now Sea Mills (connected to Bath an

The Story of Bristol

The earliest SSA record of Bristol as a baby girl name dates back to 1973, when 6 babies received it. 2019 was its biggest year on record, with 788 newborns named Bristol — #390 in the national rankings. About 58% of every Bristol on record arrived during the 2010s, its defining decade. As of 2026, Bristol ranks #643 for baby girls with 458 births, falling sharply (-23%). All told, over 12K Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 1970s to the 2020s.

Popularity Over Time

Popularity by State

ME
WA
MT
ND
MN
WI
MI
NY
VT
NH
MA
OR
ID
SD
IA
IL
IN
OH
PA
NJ
CT
RI
CA
NV
WY
NE
MO
KY
WV
VA
MD
DE
DC
UT
CO
KS
AR
TN
NC
SC
AK
AZ
NM
OK
LA
MS
AL
GA
HI
TX
FL
Top 10
11-50
51-100
101-500
500+
No data

Names that sound like Bristol

Phonetically similar names — useful when Bristol is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.

  • Brittle
  • Barista
  • Bristle
  • Bristols
  • Prestel
  • Brussel
  • Bestill
  • Brustle
  • Brutal
  • Brasil
  • Brattle
  • Bristow

Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.

Frequently Asked Questions about Bristol

What does the name Bristol mean?
Bristol is a city and ceremonial county in South West England. It is on the River Avon, and bordered by Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south, with a short coastline on the Bristol Channel to the west. The county includes most of the Bristol conurbation, but the urban area extends into South Gloucestershire, Bath and North East Somerset, and North Somerset.
What is the origin of the name Bristol?
Bristol has roots in the following cultural and linguistic traditions: English.
How popular is Bristol in 2026?
In 2026, Bristol ranks #643 among girls' names in the U.S., with 458 babies given the name that year.
When was Bristol most popular?
Bristol reached its peak popularity in 2019, ranking #390 that year with 788 babies given the name.
In which U.S. states is Bristol most popular?
Bristol has historically been most popular in West Virginia, Alaska, North Dakota. Rankings vary year to year, but these states show the strongest concentration of births named Bristol.
Is Bristol a unisex name?
In U.S. Social Security records, Bristol is primarily a girl's name. We don't have meaningful data for it as a boy's name.
What names go well with Bristol?
Names that share a similar style or popularity range with Bristol include Elmira, Stephani, Jayleen. These pairings are based on rank proximity and naming era in U.S. data.

Similar Names

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Elmira
Peak #390
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Stephani
Peak #390
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Jayleen
Peak #390
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Aleah
Peak #390
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Matie
Peak #391
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Dona
Peak #391
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Lovie
Peak #391
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Sena
Peak #391

About the name Bristol

Bristol is a girl baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1973 and has accumulated 12K births in the dataset. Bristol's peak popularity came in 2019 when it ranked #390. Use the chart and map above to compare Bristol's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.

Continue exploring

Data sources

  • Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
  • Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
  • Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
  • Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
  • Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .

Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.