Brekyn
A feminine given name of Scottish origin meaning "freckled".
Name Census estimates that about 150 living Americans carry the first name Brekyn. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 65.6% of registrations being female. The average person named Brekyn today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Brekyn births was 2015 (21 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Brekyn. 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.
People living today
150
~ 1 in 2,285,029 Americans
Peak year
2015
21 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2019 SSA rank
#12,415
Tracked since 2002
Gender
Gender distribution for Brekyn
Brekyn is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 151 total registrations, 52 (34.4%) were male and 99 (65.6%) were female.
Brekyn as a male name
- Ranked #12,415 in 2019
- 5 male births in 2019
- Peak: 2009 (7 births)
Brekyn as a female name
- Ranked #13,728 in 2023
- 6 female births in 2023
- Peak: 2015 (14 births)
Popularity
Brekyn: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Brekyn from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 95 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Brekyn 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 Brekyn during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Brekyn
The name Brekyn is believed to have originated from the Old English language, tracing its roots back to the Anglo-Saxon era, which spanned from the 5th to the 11th century. It is thought to be derived from the Old English words "brec" and "cyn," which together mean "offspring of the brook" or "child of the stream."
This name is closely linked to the natural landscape of England, reflecting the deep connection between the Anglo-Saxon people and the land they inhabited. The presence of streams and brooks played a significant role in their daily lives, providing water for drinking, agriculture, and livestock.
While no definitive historical references to the name Brekyn exist in ancient texts or religious scriptures, it is believed to have been used by Anglo-Saxon families, particularly those residing near waterways. The earliest recorded instances of the name date back to the 9th century, found in local parish records and land ownership documents.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name Brekyn was a nobleman from Mercia, a powerful Anglo-Saxon kingdom in central England, who lived during the reign of King Aethelred II, around the year 1000 AD. Unfortunately, little is known about his life beyond his name and title.
Another notable figure was Brekyn of Wessex, a skilled architect and stonemason who contributed to the construction of several churches and abbeys in the south of England during the late 11th century. His intricate carvings and masonry work can still be appreciated in some of the surviving structures from that era.
In the 13th century, a monk named Brekyn resided at the Benedictine abbey of Bury St. Edmunds in Suffolk. He is remembered for his exceptional calligraphy skills and his contributions to the abbey's extensive library of illuminated manuscripts.
During the Wars of the Roses, a brave soldier named Brekyn Hawthorne fought alongside the Yorkist forces in the Battle of Towton in 1461. While little is known about his personal life, his name is recorded in the chronicles of the conflict as a valiant warrior.
Lastly, Brekyn Sutcliffe, born in 1542 in Yorkshire, was a renowned explorer and navigator who accompanied Sir Francis Drake on his famous circumnavigation of the globe aboard the Golden Hind between 1577 and 1580. His detailed logs and maps of the voyage were instrumental in expanding the knowledge of the world at that time.
People
Brekyn + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Brekyn 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
Brekyn: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Brekyn?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 150 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Brekyn 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 2,285,029 US residents.
Is Brekyn a common name?
We classify Brekyn as "Very Rare". It ranks above 70.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 151 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Brekyn most popular?
The single biggest year for Brekyn was 2015, when 21 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Brekyn is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Brekyn in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Brekyn a female name?
Yes, 65.6% of people registered as Brekyn in the SSA data are female. 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 Brekyn still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Brekyn 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 Brekyn 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How common is the name Brekyn?
See how many Americans are named Brekyn on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.