Brenae
A feminine variant of the name "Brenna" of Celtic origin meaning "drop of moisture".
Name Census estimates that about 542 living Americans carry the first name Brenae. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Brenae today is around 25 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Brenae births was 1997 (30 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Brenae. 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
542
~ 1 in 632,388 Americans
Peak year
1997
30 babies that year
Average age
25
years old
2024 SSA rank
#15,642
Tracked since 1985
Census
Brenae in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 470 people with the first name Brenae, which placed it at #21,552 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
#21,552
National first-name rank
People counted
470
470 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
71.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Brenae
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Brenae is Black at 71.9%. The next largest groups are White (20.2%) and Hispanic (4.5%). 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 Brenae 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 Brenae at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American71.9% · 338
- White20.2% · 95
- Hispanic or Latino4.5% · 21
- Two or more races2.3% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 5
Popularity
Brenae: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Brenae from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 212 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Brenae 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 Brenae during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Brenaes live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, Florida, Texas recorded the most babies named Brenae, while Texas, Florida, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 14 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Brenae
The name Brenae is a relatively modern invention, likely derived from the French name Brenne or Brenne. It does not appear to have a direct linguistic origin or roots in ancient languages or cultures.
The earliest recorded use of the name Brenae dates back to the late 20th century. It is believed to have been created by combining elements of existing names, such as Brenda and Renae, to create a unique and distinctive name. However, there is no definitive record of its exact origin or the reasoning behind its creation.
Despite its recent origins, there are a few notable individuals throughout history who have borne the name Brenae. One of the earliest recorded individuals with this name was Brenae Johnson, an American writer and poet born in 1972. Her works explored themes of identity, culture, and the human experience.
Another notable figure was Brenae Brown, an American scholar and author born in 1965. She is best known for her research on vulnerability, shame, and courage, and has written several influential books on these topics.
In the field of sports, Brenae Newbury was a Canadian basketball player who competed in the early 2000s. She represented Canada in several international competitions and was known for her defensive prowess on the court.
Brenae Williams, born in 1988, was an American entrepreneur and philanthropist. She founded a successful technology company and later established a charitable foundation focused on providing educational opportunities for underprivileged youth.
Lastly, Brenae Michaels was an Australian actress and singer born in 1975. She gained recognition for her roles in several popular television series and musicals, showcasing her versatility as a performer.
These individuals, while not historically significant figures, represent the diversity of individuals who have borne the name Brenae throughout its relatively short history. As a modern name, its legacy continues to evolve with each new individual who carries it forward.
People
Brenae + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Brenae 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
Brenae: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Brenae?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 542 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Brenae 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 632,388 US residents.
Is Brenae a common name?
We classify Brenae as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 555 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Brenae most popular?
The single biggest year for Brenae was 1997, when 30 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Brenae is about 25 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Brenae in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 470 people with the name Brenae, or 0.16 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #21,552 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 Brenae 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 Brenae?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Brenae leans strongly female. 466 people counted with this name were female (98.9%), compared with 5 male bearers (1.1%). 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 Brenae?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Brenae is Black at 71.9%. The next largest groups are White (20.2%) and Hispanic (4.5%). 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 Brenae most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Brenae in the 2020 Census, accounting for 71.9% (338 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 Brenae in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Brenae a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Brenae 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 Brenae still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Brenae 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 Brenae 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 Brenae?
Want to know how many Americans are named Brenae? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.