# Brendan (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/brendan/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys |
| Origin | Irish |
| Meaning | “prince”, “king”, “(someone) preeminent”, “outstanding”, “high”, “exalted” |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | Brandon, Brenden, Brendon, Brennan |
| US babies named this | 92,141 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 91,816 / 325 (0% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 2,828, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

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.

## What it means

Brendan is grouped under king.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1992 | 12 | 7,115 |
| 1993 | 19 | 5,023 |
| 1994 | 10 | 8,208 |
| 1995 | 11 | 7,585 |
| 1996 | 16 | 5,816 |
| 1997 | 12 | 7,344 |
| 1998 | 10 | 8,675 |
| 1999 | 10 | 8,891 |
| 2000 | 10 | 9,269 |
| 2001 | 5 | 15,730 |
| 2002 | 10 | 9,601 |
| 2003 | 5 | 16,162 |
| 2004 | 17 | 6,832 |
| 2005 | 7 | 13,237 |
| 2008 | 8 | 12,781 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 1,315 | 263 |
| 2012 | 1,149 | 301 |
| 2013 | 1,009 | 326 |
| 2014 | 922 | 352 |
| 2015 | 826 | 387 |
| 2016 | 688 | 450 |
| 2017 | 560 | 517 |
| 2018 | 490 | 562 |
| 2019 | 422 | 638 |
| 2020 | 344 | 722 |
| 2021 | 327 | 767 |
| 2022 | 269 | 881 |
| 2023 | 262 | 888 |
| 2024 | 222 | 1,009 |
| 2025 | 195 | 1,098 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 78 | 473 |
| 2012 | 80 | 478 |
| 2013 | 58 | 596 |
| 2014 | 52 | 650 |
| 2015 | 44 | 740 |
| 2016 | 32 | 928 |
| 2017 | 28 | 1,042 |
| 2018 | 30 | 958 |
| 2019 | 21 | 1,217 |
| 2020 | 15 | 1,548 |
| 2021 | 16 | 1,516 |
| 2022 | 19 | 1,366 |
| 2023 | 14 | 1,701 |
| 2024 | 19 | 1,402 |
| 2025 | 16 | 1,613 |

## In other languages

- Catalan: Brandan
- Chinese: 布倫丹 /布伦丹
- Dutch: Brandaan
- French: Brendan
- Irish: Bréanainn, Breandán, Breanndán
- Italian: Brendano
- Japanese: ブレンダン
- Latin: Brendanus
- Lithuanian: Brendanas
- Portuguese: Brandão
- Russian: Бре́ндан
- Scottish Gaelic: Brianann
- Spanish: Borondón
- Ukrainian: Брендан

## People named Brendan

- Brendan Fraser, Canadian-American actor (born 1968)
- Brendan Eich, American computer programmer and technology executive
- Brendan Perry, British singer and multi-instrumentalist
- Brendan Fehr, Canadian-American actor
- Brendan Shanahan, Canadian ice hockey player
- Brendan Galloway, English association football player (born 1996)
- Brendan Hansen, American swimmer, Olympic gold medalist, world champion, world record-holder
- Brendan Hines, American actor and singer
- Brendan Christian, Antigua and Barbuda sprinter
- Brendan Fletcher, Canadian actor
- Brendan Haywood, American basketball player (born 1979)
- Brendan Foster, Athletics competitor, long distance runner

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.