NameRealm
Bristol

Bristol: name meaning, origin & popularity

Meaning
“place name from Bridge Place”
Origin
English
Say it
BRIS-tuhl · 2 syllables
Used for
Girls (95% of all uses)

Transferred use of the English place name Bristol, from Old English Brycgstow, meaning 'the place at the bridge.' As a first name, it is modern and surname-style.

English namesAmerican namesModern namesSurname-style names

How popular is Bristol?

2024142 per million US babies
1880192019602000
Drag the line or the slider to read any year. Values are per million US births recorded by Social Security. Records before about 1937 undercount births, so early peaks can look taller than they were.

Babies named Bristol in 2024471

2024 rank#635 girls

Peak year2019

Total US babies since 188011,224

Bristol has been fairly stable over the last fifteen years.

Names like Bristol

Variants, related forms and names with the same roots.

  • Oliviaolive tree · English
  • Evelyndesired; little bird · English
  • Harperharp player · English
  • Violetviolet flower · English
  • Hazelhazel tree · English
  • Ellieshort form of names ending in -el or -ella · English
  • Lilylily flower · English
  • Scarlettscarlet, bright red · English

Bristol questions

What does the name Bristol mean?

Bristol means "place name from Bridge Place". It comes from English. Transferred use of the English place name Bristol, from Old English Brycgstow, meaning 'the place at the bridge.' As a first name, it is modern and surname-style.

Is Bristol a boy or girl name?

Bristol is mainly a girl's name in US records (95% of uses since 1880).

How popular is Bristol?

471 US babies were named Bristol in 2024. Its peak year was 2019.

How do you pronounce Bristol?

Bristol is usually pronounced BRIS-tuhl.

Birth counts: US Social Security Administration national data, 1880–2024 (names given to 5+ babies of a sex in a year). How we write meanings.