Brendan
Brendan was given to 195 boys in 2025, #1,098 among boys’ names; 92,141 Americans have been recorded with it since 1912 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 87,400 Americans named Brendan and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (95% of everyone recorded); the median is 29 years old and half are between 22 and 37.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Brendan by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Brendan mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Brendan is “a male given name from Irish.” Its etymology gives the senses “prince, king” (breenhin) and “(someone) preeminent, outstanding” (*brigantīnos) and “high, exalted” (*brigantī).
Anglicized form of the name of Irish saints, Irish Bréanainn (via Latin Brendanus), from Old Irish Brénainn, from Old Welsh breenhin (“prince, king”), ultimately from Proto-Celtic *brigantīnos (“(someone) preeminent, outstanding”), a diminutive of *brigantī (“high, exalted”). Doublet of Brian.
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Brendan?
#1,098 among boys’ names, 2025
Brendan fell from #387 in 2015 to #1,098 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born fell from 0.43 to 0.11 per 1,000.
4,005 babies in 1999, the peak
Brendan peaked in 1999, when 4,005 babies were given it (3,995 boys, #96 among boys’ names). The 195 births of 2025 are 5% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 195 | #1,098 | 0.11 |
| 2024 | 222 | #1,009 | 0.13 |
| 2023 | 262 | #888 | 0.15 |
| 2022 | 269 | #881 | 0.15 |
| 2021 | 327 | #767 | 0.19 |
| 2020 | 344 | #722 | 0.20 |
| 2019 | 422 | #638 | 0.24 |
| 2018 | 490 | #562 | 0.27 |
| 2017 | 560 | #517 | 0.30 |
| 2016 | 688 | #450 | 0.36 |
Every recorded year (114)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 826 | #387 | 0.43 |
| 2014 | 922 | #352 | 0.48 |
| 2013 | 1,009 | #326 | 0.53 |
| 2012 | 1,149 | #301 | 0.61 |
| 2011 | 1,315 | #263 | 0.69 |
| 2010 | 1,527 | #231 | 0.80 |
| 2009 | 1,762 | #212 | 0.89 |
| 2008 | 1,887 | #207 | 0.92 |
| 2007 | 1,927 | #205 | 0.93 |
| 2006 | 2,171 | #185 | 1.1 |
| 2005 | 2,360 | #176 | 1.2 |
| 2004 | 2,719 | #150 | 1.4 |
| 2003 | 2,867 | #141 | 1.5 |
| 2002 | 3,141 | #124 | 1.6 |
| 2001 | 3,345 | #115 | 1.7 |
| 2000 | 3,657 | #101 | 1.9 |
| 1999 | 3,995 | #96 | 2.1 |
| 1998 | 3,879 | #99 | 2.0 |
| 1997 | 3,621 | #107 | 1.9 |
| 1996 | 2,817 | #131 | 1.5 |
| 1995 | 2,692 | #133 | 1.4 |
| 1994 | 2,731 | #129 | 1.4 |
| 1993 | 2,302 | #145 | 1.2 |
| 1992 | 2,299 | #145 | 1.2 |
| 1991 | 2,189 | #147 | 1.1 |
| 1990 | 1,996 | #155 | 1.0 |
| 1989 | 2,146 | #145 | 1.1 |
| 1988 | 1,796 | #153 | 0.94 |
| 1987 | 1,808 | #156 | 1.0 |
| 1986 | 1,401 | #185 | 0.76 |
| 1985 | 1,382 | #185 | 0.75 |
| 1984 | 1,332 | #188 | 0.74 |
| 1983 | 1,276 | #191 | 0.71 |
| 1982 | 1,198 | #206 | 0.66 |
| 1981 | 1,157 | #215 | 0.65 |
| 1980 | 1,102 | #219 | 0.62 |
| 1979 | 991 | #230 | 0.58 |
| 1978 | 895 | #235 | 0.55 |
| 1977 | 768 | #258 | 0.47 |
| 1976 | 825 | #244 | 0.53 |
| 1975 | 654 | #292 | 0.42 |
| 1974 | 631 | #292 | 0.40 |
| 1973 | 552 | #319 | 0.35 |
| 1972 | 503 | #343 | 0.31 |
| 1971 | 543 | #336 | 0.31 |
| 1970 | 568 | #336 | 0.31 |
| 1969 | 470 | #364 | 0.26 |
| 1968 | 496 | #349 | 0.29 |
| 1967 | 444 | #356 | 0.25 |
| 1966 | 489 | #339 | 0.27 |
| 1965 | 307 | #439 | 0.17 |
| 1964 | 288 | #466 | 0.14 |
| 1963 | 245 | #513 | 0.12 |
| 1962 | 240 | #510 | 0.12 |
| 1961 | 241 | #513 | 0.11 |
| 1960 | 217 | #538 | 0.10 |
| 1959 | 178 | #585 | 0.08 |
| 1958 | 123 | #684 | 0.06 |
| 1957 | 144 | #638 | 0.07 |
| 1956 | 114 | #691 | 0.05 |
| 1955 | 98 | #735 | 0.05 |
| 1954 | 68 | #893 | 0.03 |
| 1953 | 78 | #812 | 0.04 |
| 1952 | 66 | #864 | 0.03 |
| 1951 | 54 | #949 | 0.03 |
| 1950 | 61 | #879 | 0.03 |
| 1949 | 51 | #969 | 0.03 |
| 1948 | 51 | #974 | 0.03 |
| 1947 | 39 | #1,161 | 0.02 |
| 1946 | 49 | #952 | 0.03 |
| 1945 | 48 | #928 | 0.04 |
| 1944 | 39 | #1,055 | 0.03 |
| 1943 | 55 | #899 | 0.04 |
| 1942 | 37 | #1,121 | 0.03 |
| 1941 | 43 | #972 | 0.04 |
| 1940 | 32 | #1,185 | 0.03 |
| 1939 | 32 | #1,144 | 0.03 |
| 1938 | 33 | #1,130 | 0.03 |
| 1937 | 36 | #1,075 | 0.03 |
| 1936 | 40 | #990 | 0.04 |
| 1935 | 34 | #1,127 | 0.03 |
| 1934 | 33 | #1,151 | 0.03 |
| 1933 | 24 | #1,364 | 0.02 |
| 1932 | 25 | #1,391 | 0.02 |
| 1931 | 11 | #2,339 | 0.01 |
| 1930 | 21 | #1,606 | 0.02 |
| 1929 | 17 | #1,853 | 0.02 |
| 1928 | 18 | #1,835 | 0.02 |
| 1927 | 18 | #1,875 | 0.02 |
| 1926 | 19 | #1,795 | 0.02 |
| 1925 | 20 | #1,747 | 0.02 |
| 1924 | 17 | #1,970 | 0.02 |
| 1923 | 21 | #1,701 | 0.02 |
| 1922 | 15 | #2,153 | 0.01 |
| 1921 | 9 | #3,010 | 0.01 |
| 1920 | 11 | #2,621 | 0.01 |
| 1919 | 16 | #1,982 | 0.02 |
| 1918 | 10 | #2,712 | 0.01 |
| 1917 | 12 | #2,299 | 0.01 |
| 1916 | 10 | #2,569 | 0.01 |
| 1915 | 7 | #3,123 | 0.01 |
| 1914 | 13 | #1,790 | 0.02 |
| 1913 | 8 | #2,112 | 0.02 |
| 1912 | 9 | #1,763 | 0.02 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Brendan a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Brendan has been given almost only to boys: 325 girls in 114 years of records.
Girls and boys named Brendan: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Brendan, and how old are they?
87,400 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 95% of the 92,141 Americans ever recorded as Brendan. The median Brendan alive today is 29 years old; half are between 22 and 37.
The 2020 Census counted 85,406 people named Brendan (284 women and girls, 85,122 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 87,176 born in the U.S. The Census count is 2% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 135 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 1,720 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 9,180 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 29,300 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 40,600 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 6,490 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Brendan born?
The states with the most babies named Brendan are New York, Texas and Illinois, with 36% of its births recorded by state in 2025.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 23 | #642 | 1.8× |
| Texas | 18 | #1,173 | 0.4× |
| Illinois | 16 | #575 | 1.2× |
| California | 12 | #1,452 | 0.7× |
| Virginia | 12 | #591 | 0.9× |
| North Carolina | 9 | #878 | 0.5× |
| Massachusetts | 8 | #559 | 3.6× |
| Pennsylvania | 8 | #925 | 1.4× |
| New Jersey | 7 | #840 | 1.6× |
| Georgia | 7 | #1,117 | 0.5× |
Where Brendan is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Brendan is most over-represented in Massachusetts: since 1912 it was given 3.6 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Brendan with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 8 names spelled alike, given to 950,424 babies since 1880, Brendan is the second most given (9.7% of them). In 2025 it was given to 195 of their 1,855 babies (11%), the third most given that year.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Brendan
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Brendan and names like it
- Compare Brendan and BrandonBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1990sBrendan peaked in 1999.
- New York’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Brendan since 1910.
- Irish namesWiktionary’s origin for Brendan: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1999The year the most babies were named Brendan.
- The names of Generation ZMost people named Brendan alive today were born 1997-2012.
- Names starting with BMost given first.