Brynne
A feminine given name of Celtic origin meaning "hill" or "slope".
Name Census estimates that about 2,582 living Americans carry the first name Brynne. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Brynne today is around 26 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Brynne births was 2003 (117 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Brynne. 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
2.6K
~ 1 in 132,748 Americans
Peak year
2003
117 babies that year
Average age
26
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,779
Tracked since 1952
Census
Brynne in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,473 people with the first name Brynne, which placed it at #6,483 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
#6,483
National first-name rank
People counted
2.5K
2,473 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.8
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
86.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Brynne
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Brynne is White at 86.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.4%) and Hispanic (3.9%). 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 Brynne 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 Brynne at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.8% · 2,147
- Two or more races4.4% · 109
- Hispanic or Latino3.9% · 96
- Black or African American2.7% · 68
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.0% · 49
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 4
Popularity
Brynne: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Brynne from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 845 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
Brynne 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 Brynne during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Brynnes live
The SSA's state-level files cover 16 states and territories. California, Pennsylvania, New York recorded the most babies named Brynne, while Maryland, Indiana, Colorado recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 47 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Brynne
The name Brynne is a variant spelling of the traditional Welsh name Bryn. It is believed to have derived from the Welsh word "bryn," which means "hill" or "mound." This name originated in Wales and has been in use since the Middle Ages.
The earliest recorded instance of the name Brynne can be traced back to the 13th century. It was initially used as a surname in Wales, and later adopted as a given name. The name gained popularity during the Renaissance period when Welsh names became more widespread across Europe.
One of the earliest notable individuals with the name Brynne was Brynne ap Gruffydd, a Welsh nobleman and landowner who lived in the late 13th century. He was a prominent figure in the region of Powys and played a significant role in local politics during his time.
In the 16th century, Brynne ap Rhys was a renowned Welsh poet and bard. He was known for his skilful compositions and contributed greatly to the preservation of Welsh literary traditions.
During the 17th century, Brynne Vaughan was a Welsh clergyman and scholar. He was known for his extensive knowledge of theology and his contributions to religious literature.
In the 19th century, Brynne Pryse was a Welsh industrialist and entrepreneur. He was involved in the coal mining industry and played a crucial role in the economic development of South Wales during the Industrial Revolution.
Another notable figure with the name Brynne was Brynne Williams, a Welsh writer and journalist who lived in the early 20th century. She was renowned for her insightful articles and her efforts in promoting Welsh culture and literature.
While the name Brynne has its origins in Wales, it has gained popularity in other parts of the world, particularly in English-speaking countries. The name has been embraced by individuals from various cultural backgrounds, drawn to its unique spelling and Welsh heritage.
People
Brynne + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Brynne 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
Brynne: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Brynne?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,582 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Brynne 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 132,748 US residents.
Is Brynne a common name?
We classify Brynne as "Rare". It ranks above 94.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,664 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Brynne most popular?
The single biggest year for Brynne was 2003, when 117 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Brynne 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 Brynne in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,473 people with the name Brynne, or 0.82 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #6,483 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 Brynne 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 Brynne?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Brynne appears almost entirely female. Of the 2,476 people counted with this name, 99.2% 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 Brynne?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Brynne is White at 86.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.4%) and Hispanic (3.9%). 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 Brynne most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Brynne in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.8% (2,147 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 Brynne in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Brynne a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Brynne 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 Brynne still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Brynne 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 Brynne 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 have Brynne as a first name?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.