boy's name
Bentley
BENT-lee
- Origin English
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 2
- Letters 7
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 70,033
the United States
#215
2025 births
Bentley means the bent-grass clearing, and its rise is one of the sharpest we record — American births went 666 in 2009 to 4,009 in 2010, a six-fold jump in a single year. Our data dates the break but does not explain it.
- Bentley is a name of English origin.
- Peaked in 2012, when 6,143 babies were given the name.
- Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 1,847 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1890.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Bentley over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1890s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1890s | 6 |
| 1910s | 83 |
| 1920s | 138 |
| 1930s | 108 |
| 1940s | 139 |
| 1950s | 195 |
| 1960s | 401 |
| 1970s | 189 |
| 1980s | 291 |
| 1990s | 425 |
| 2000s | 2,234 |
| 2010s | 45,902 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 13,451 |
What Bentley means
Bentley means the clearing where bent grass grows. The Old English joins a word for coarse grass to leah, a woodland clearing, describing ground rather than a person.
Where Bentley comes from
Bentley is an English place name from beonet, bent grass — a coarse species that colonises poor ground — joined to leah, a clearing in woodland. There are Bentleys across the Midlands and the north. The car company takes the surname of W. O. Bentley, who built aero engines before cars. As a given name it is almost entirely American and almost entirely twenty-first century, and its curve is unusually abrupt.
Bentley in use
Bentley moved very fast. American births ran 276 in 2007 and 310 in 2008, then 666 in 2009 and 4,009 in 2010 — a six-fold jump in one year — climbing to a peak of 6,143 in 2012 before falling back to 4,963 by 2014. Our data dates the break precisely and does not identify a cause, and we will not guess at one. It now ranks 215th in the United States on 1,795 births, 429th in Northern Ireland, 935th in England and Wales on 33 and 5310th in France, across 70,033 lifetime births in five of the seven markets we track.
How popular is Bentley?
In 2025, Bentley was given to 1,795 babies in the United States, ranking #215 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Bentley is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Bentley
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Bentley also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Bentley over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
2 nicknames for Bentley
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Bentley in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Bentley
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Bentley — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Bentley
What does the name Bentley mean?
The bent-grass clearing — beonet, a coarse grass, joined to leah, a woodland clearing.
Why did Bentley suddenly rise?
Births went from 666 in 2009 to 4,009 in 2010. Our data dates the jump but does not identify the cause.
Is it named after the car?
The car takes the surname of W. O. Bentley, who built aero engines first. The place name is much older.
How popular is Bentley?
215th in the United States, down from a 2012 peak of 6,143 births.
Is Bentley a girl's or a boy's name?
Bentley is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Bentley?
Bentley has 2 syllables.
What are the nicknames for Bentley?
Bentley is usually shortened to Ben and Benny.
Is Bentley a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Bentley currently ranks #215 in the United States. Its usage has held steady over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.