Brenn
A variant of the English name Brendan, of Irish origin meaning "prince".
Name Census estimates that about 151 living Americans carry the first name Brenn. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 50.6% of registrations being female. The average person named Brenn today is around 23 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Brenn births was 1990 (12 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Brenn. 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
151
~ 1 in 2,269,896 Americans
Peak year
1990
12 babies that year
Average age
23
years old
2019 SSA rank
#9,894
Tracked since 1980
Census
Brenn in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 365 people with the first name Brenn, which placed it at #25,801 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
#25,801
National first-name rank
People counted
365
365 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
75.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Brenn
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Brenn is White at 75.9%. The next largest groups are Black (7.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (5.8%). 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 Brenn 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 Brenn at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White75.9% · 277
- Black or African American7.1% · 26
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.8% · 21
- Hispanic or Latino5.5% · 20
- Two or more races4.4% · 16
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.4% · 5
Gender
Gender distribution for Brenn
Brenn is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 154 total registrations, 76 (49.4%) were male and 78 (50.6%) were female.
Brenn as a male name
- Ranked #9,894 in 2019
- 7 male births in 2019
- Peak: 2019 (7 births)
Brenn as a female name
- Ranked #13,718 in 2024
- 6 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2022 (8 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Brenn on both sides of the split. Of the 364 people counted with this name, 176 were male (48.4%) and 188 were female (51.6%).
Popularity
Brenn: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Brenn 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 57 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
Brenn 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 Brenn 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 Brenn
The name Brenn has its origins in the ancient Celtic culture, deriving from the Old Irish word "brennaid," which means "to burn" or "to glow." It is believed to have emerged around the 5th or 6th century CE, during the early medieval period in Ireland and parts of Britain.
The name's association with fire and light suggests that it may have held significant symbolic meaning for the Celts, who revered the elements and natural forces. In some ancient Celtic texts, the name Brenn appears in references to warriors, poets, or druids who were known for their fiery passion or eloquence.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Brenn was a Gallic chieftain who led an invasion of the Balkan Peninsula and Greece in the 3rd century BCE. Although the campaign was ultimately unsuccessful, Brenn's daring and military prowess were noted by ancient Greek historians such as Pausanias and Justin.
In the 6th century CE, a Brenn appeared in the Annals of Ulster, an ancient chronicle of medieval Irish history. This Brenn was a king of the Dál Riata, a Gaelic kingdom that spanned parts of modern-day Scotland and Ireland. He is mentioned in connection with battles and political events of his time.
During the Middle Ages, the name Brenn was particularly popular among the ruling classes and nobility of Ireland and Scotland. One notable figure was Brenn of Leinster, a 12th-century Irish king who fought against the Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland. He was known for his bravery and resistance against the invading forces.
Another significant individual with the name Brenn was Brenn of Gowrie, a 14th-century Scottish nobleman and warrior. He played a key role in the Wars of Scottish Independence against England and is celebrated in Scottish folklore for his valor and loyalty to Robert the Bruce.
Throughout history, the name Brenn has maintained its association with strength, passion, and a fiery spirit. Although its use has waned in modern times, it remains a unique and evocative name with deep roots in Celtic culture and mythology.
People
Brenn + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Brenn 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
Brenn: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Brenn?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 151 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Brenn 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 2,269,896 US residents.
Is Brenn a common name?
We classify Brenn as "Very Rare". It ranks above 70.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 154 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Brenn most popular?
The single biggest year for Brenn was 1990, when 12 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Brenn is about 23 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Brenn in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 365 people with the name Brenn, or 0.12 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #25,801 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 Brenn 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 Brenn?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Brenn on both sides of the split. Of the 364 people counted with this name, 176 were male (48.4%) and 188 were female (51.6%). 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 Brenn?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Brenn is White at 75.9%. The next largest groups are Black (7.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (5.8%). 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 Brenn most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Brenn in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.9% (277 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 Brenn in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Brenn a female name?
Yes, 50.6% of people registered as Brenn 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 Brenn still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Brenn 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 Brenn 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 called Brenn?
You can see how many people share the name Brenn on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.