Breona
A feminine name of English origin meaning "strength, vigor, bravery".
Name Census estimates that about 1,940 living Americans carry the first name Breona. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Breona today is around 29 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Breona births was 1994 (167 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Breona. 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
1.9K
~ 1 in 176,677 Americans
Peak year
1994
167 babies that year
Average age
29
years old
2020 SSA rank
#15,515
Tracked since 1978
Census
Breona in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,561 people with the first name Breona, which placed it at #9,070 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
#9,070
National first-name rank
People counted
1.6K
1,561 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
64.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Breona
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Breona is Black at 64.1%. The next largest groups are White (22.1%) and Two or More Races (8.4%). 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 Breona 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 Breona at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American64.1% · 1,000
- White22.1% · 345
- Two or more races8.4% · 131
- Hispanic or Latino4.5% · 71
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 10
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 4
Popularity
Breona: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Breona from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 1,128 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
Breona 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 Breona during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Breonas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 21 states and territories. Maryland, Texas, California recorded the most babies named Breona, while Oklahoma, District of Columbia, Kentucky recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 43 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Breona
The name Breona has its origins in the Celtic languages of ancient Britain and Ireland. It is derived from the ancient Brythonic word "bré," which means "hill" or "promontory," and the suffix "-ona," which signifies a feminine name. This suggests that the name Breona was initially used to denote a woman who lived on a hill or near a promontory.
In ancient Celtic mythology, hills and promontories were often associated with sacred sites and places of worship. Therefore, the name Breona may have held spiritual or religious significance for the early Celts. It is possible that women bearing this name were involved in religious ceremonies or held positions of reverence within their communities.
The earliest recorded use of the name Breona can be traced back to the 5th century CE, when it appeared in various ancient manuscripts and records from the region now known as Wales and Cornwall. One notable example is the "Book of Llandaff," a 12th-century manuscript containing charters and records from the early medieval period, which mentions a woman named Breona who was a landowner in the area.
Throughout history, several notable women have borne the name Breona. One of the earliest recorded examples is Breona of Gwent (c. 550 CE), a Welsh noblewoman and landowner who was known for her charitable works and patronage of the Church. Another prominent figure was Breona of Dyfed (c. 650 CE), a renowned healer and herbalist who was revered for her knowledge of medicinal plants and natural remedies.
In the 9th century, Breona of Brittany (c. 820 CE) was a Breton princess and scholar who was celebrated for her expertise in literature and philosophy. She was also known for her advocacy of women's education and her support for the establishment of schools and libraries.
During the medieval period, Breona de Lacy (c. 1180 CE) was an English noblewoman and landowner who played a significant role in the political affairs of her time. She was influential in the negotiations between King John and the barons, which ultimately led to the signing of the Magna Carta in 1215.
In more recent history, Breona Guth (1868-1942) was a notable American opera singer and vocal teacher. She was renowned for her performances in various opera houses across Europe and the United States and was also a respected voice instructor, training many aspiring singers throughout her career.
People
Breona + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Breona 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
Breona: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Breona?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,940 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Breona 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 176,677 US residents.
Is Breona a common name?
We classify Breona as "Rare". It ranks above 93.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,996 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Breona most popular?
The single biggest year for Breona was 1994, when 167 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Breona is about 29 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Breona in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,561 people with the name Breona, or 0.52 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #9,070 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 Breona 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 Breona?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Breona appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,570 people counted with this name, 99.9% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Breona?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Breona is Black at 64.1%. The next largest groups are White (22.1%) and Two or More Races (8.4%). 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 Breona most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Breona in the 2020 Census, accounting for 64.1% (1,000 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 Breona in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Breona a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Breona 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 Breona still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Breona 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 Breona 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 Breona?
You can see how many people have the name Breona on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.