Bracken
A nature name derived from an Old English word for a fern or bracken plant.
Name Census estimates that about 596 living Americans carry the first name Bracken. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Bracken today is around 26 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Bracken births was 1998 (31 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Bracken. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Bracken with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
596
~ 1 in 575,091 Americans
Peak year
1998
31 babies that year
Average age
26
years old
2023 SSA rank
#12,497
Tracked since 1971
Census
Bracken in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 627 people with the first name Bracken, which placed it at #17,540 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#17,540
National first-name rank
People counted
627
627 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
91.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bracken
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Bracken is White at 91.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.7%) and Hispanic (2.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Bracken described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Bracken at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.9% · 576
- Two or more races2.7% · 17
- Hispanic or Latino2.4% · 15
- Black or African American1.4% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 6
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 4
Popularity
Bracken: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Bracken from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 181 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Bracken by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Bracken during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Brackens live
Origin
Meaning and history of Bracken
The given name Bracken originated from the Old English word "braccan," which means "fern" or "bracken." This name has its roots in the language and culture of the Anglo-Saxons, and it is believed to have been used as early as the 5th century AD.
The name Bracken is closely tied to nature and the outdoors, as it is derived from a plant that is commonly found in the woodlands and forests of the British Isles. It is possible that the name was initially given to individuals who lived in areas abundant with ferns or bracken plants.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Bracken can be found in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, a historical record that covers the events in England from the 5th to the 12th century. In this text, there are mentions of individuals with names similar to Bracken, such as Braccanleah and Braccanhyll.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Bracken. One of the earliest was Bracken of Beverley, a renowned scholar and theologian who lived in the 8th century AD. He is known for his contributions to the study of canon law and his influential writings on ecclesiastical matters.
Another prominent figure was Bracken of Jarrow, a Benedictine monk and scholar who lived in the late 7th and early 8th centuries. He is credited with writing several influential works on astronomy, mathematics, and biblical commentary.
In the 12th century, there was Bracken of Canterbury, a prominent churchman who served as the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 to 1170. He played a significant role in the conflicts between King Henry II and Thomas Becket, and was known for his diplomatic skills.
During the Renaissance period, there was Bracken Fielding, an English playwright and poet who lived in the 16th century. He is best known for his contributions to the development of English Renaissance drama and his influence on the works of William Shakespeare.
In more recent times, one of the notable individuals with the name Bracken was Bracken Lee, an American writer and journalist who lived from 1915 to 1996. He is best known for his work as a war correspondent during World War II and his later career as a novelist and screenwriter.
These are just a few examples of the many individuals throughout history who have borne the name Bracken, a name that has its roots in the natural world and has been carried by scholars, churchmen, writers, and other notable figures over the centuries.
People
Bracken + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Bracken as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with B
Other first names starting with B with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Bracken: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Bracken?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 596 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Bracken going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 575,091 US residents.
Is Bracken a common name?
We classify Bracken as "Very Rare". It ranks above 86.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 610 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Bracken most popular?
The single biggest year for Bracken was 1998, when 31 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Bracken is about 26 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Bracken in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 627 people with the name Bracken, or 0.21 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #17,540 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Bracken in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Bracken?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Bracken leans strongly male. 581 people counted with this name were male (92.1%), compared with 50 female bearers (7.9%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Bracken?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Bracken is White at 91.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.7%) and Hispanic (2.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Bracken most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Bracken in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.9% (576 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Bracken in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Bracken a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Bracken in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Bracken still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Bracken in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Bracken can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are named Bracken?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.