How common is the surname Brennan?

49,238 people in the United States had the surname Brennan in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 6,270 Americans. It ranked 701st of 162,253 surnames.

What ethnicity is the surname Brennan?

In the 2010 Census, 95% of people named Brennan identified as white (not Hispanic), and 2.3% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

Who is the most famous person named Brennan?

Walter Brennan, American actor (1894–1974), followed by Eileen Brennan.

Where is the surname Brennan most common?

Wikidata records people named Brennan in the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom.

Is the surname Brennan getting more or less common?

More common. 48,296 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 49,238 in 2010, up 2.0%.

Is Brennan also a first name?

Yes. Brennan is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.

The surname Brennan

An Irish patronymic surname, carried by 49,238 people in the United States.

2 syllables Soundex B655 Also a first name

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Brennan is more common than 99.6% of them.

Origin

Irish origin

From Irish Ó Braonáin (“descendant of Braonán”), a diminutive of braon (“moisture, drop”). Alternatively, from Irish Ó Branáin (“descendant of Branán”), a diminutive of bran (“raven”).

Brennan is a patronymic surname: formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.

One of 880 Irish surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 49,238 people named Brennan in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 6,270 Americans. That is up 2.0% since 2000, when the Census counted 48,296.

#701

rank among US surnames

49,238

people in 2010

per 100,000 Americans

+2%

change since 2000 (was #642)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#692	Beltran	49,776	6,203
#693	Pitts	49,740	6,207
#694	Parrish	49,733	6,208
#695	Ponce	49,549	6,231
#696	Rich	49,481	6,240
#697	Booth	49,402	6,250
#698	Koch	49,395	6,251

Who is named Brennan

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

95% of people named Brennan identified as white (not Hispanic), 2.3% as Hispanic or Latino (any race) and 1.3% as two or more races.

White (not Hispanic) 95%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.3%
Two or more races 1.3%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.8%
Black (not Hispanic) 0.8%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.2%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Brennans

23 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Walter Brennan
American actor (1894–1974)
Eileen Brennan
American actress and singer (1932–2013)
Ian Brennan
American screenwriter, producer, director and actor, born 1978
Kim Brennan
Australian rower, born 1985
Scott Brennan
Australian rower, born 1983
Michael Brennan
Australian field hockey player, born 1975
Rosie Brennan
American cross-country skier, born 1988
Colleen Brennan
American pornographic actress (born 1949)
Jason Brennan
American philosopher and business professor, born 1979
Joseph Vincent Brennan
American bishop of the Roman Catholic Church, born 1954
Matthew Brennan
British cyclist, born 2005
Margaret Brennan
American journalist based in Washington, D.C., born 1980

Notable Brennans come mostly from the United States (15), Australia (5) and the United Kingdom (3).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Variant spellings

Branon

Surnames that sound like Brennan

Brennan has the Soundex code B655, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code B655.

Other Irish surnames

All 880 Irish surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Brennan come from?: From Irish Ó Braonáin (“descendant of Braonán”), a diminutive of braon (“moisture, drop”). Alternatively, from Irish Ó Branáin (“descendant of Branán”), a diminutive of bran (“raven”).
How common is the surname Brennan?: 49,238 people in the United States had the surname Brennan in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 6,270 Americans. It ranked 701st of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Brennan?: In the 2010 Census, 95% of people named Brennan identified as white (not Hispanic), and 2.3% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).
Who is the most famous person named Brennan?: Walter Brennan, American actor (1894–1974), followed by Eileen Brennan.
Where is the surname Brennan most common?: Wikidata records people named Brennan in the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom.
What type of surname is Brennan?: Brennan is a patronymic surname, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.
Is the surname Brennan getting more or less common?: More common. 48,296 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 49,238 in 2010, up 2.0%.
What are other spellings of Brennan?: Branon.
Is Brennan also a first name?: Yes. Brennan is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.