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Summary
- No one named Bradley appears in the Bible, in Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek or any English translation.
- Bradley comes from an English surname taken from places called Bradley, from Old English brad, “broad,” and leah, “clearing” or “woodland.”
- Brad is its usual short form, and is not in the Bible either.
- The Hebrew merhav, “a broad place,” appears in Psalms 18:19, 31:8 and 118:5, and Isaac named a well Rehoboth, “broad places” (Genesis 26:22).
- Bradley was among the top 100 names for American boys from 1960 to 1997 and ranked highest, 47th, in 1970 and 1979.
- No saint is named Bradley; the French Catholic directory Nominis suggests Saint Brendan, feast 16 May.
Bibliography (Click to show)
- Behind the Name, “Bradley,” “Brad,” “Ashley” and “Kinsley,” with United States popularity figures from Social Security Administration data. https://www.behindthename.com/name/bradley
- “Bradley (given name),” Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bradley_(given_name)
- Blue Letter Bible, Strong’s H4800 (merhav), H7337 (rahav) and H7344 (Rehoboth). https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h4800/kjv/wlc/0-1/
- Nominis, Église catholique en France, “Bradley.” https://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/prenom/7155/Bradley.html
- Code of Canon Law (1983), canon 855. https://www.vatican.va/archive/cod-iuris-canonici/eng/documents/cic_lib4-cann834-878_en.html
- Scripture quotations: Psalm 18:19, Psalm 31:8 and Genesis 26:22, English Standard Version; Psalm 118:5, King James Version.
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