Bud is a boy name with a classic feel, drawn from real birth records. Below you'll find what Bud means and where it comes from, plus how many babies have been named Bud across the United States, UK, Ireland and New Zealand, how popular Bud has been over the decades, and the year it peaked.
Bud is a boy name of English origin meaning “friend, brother”. An affectionate nickname turned given name.
| Country | Births on record |
|---|---|
| United States since 1880 | 9,502 births |
Counts come from official national birth-registration statistics: U.S. Social Security Administration, England & Wales (Office for National Statistics), Scotland (National Records of Scotland), Northern Ireland (NISRA), Ireland (Central Statistics Office) and New Zealand (Dept. of Internal Affairs). Coverage spans differ, so totals aren't directly comparable across countries.
Babies named Bud per year, United States (1880 to 2025). United States peaked in 1928 (215/yr).
Bud has been a fairly common baby name in the United States. It was most common in 1928, when it ranked #854 nationally (given to 215 babies that year).
Buddy · Boyd · Bode · Buddie · Budd · Bodi
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