Brae
A Scottish topographic name referring to a gentle slope or hillside.
Name Census estimates that about 338 living Americans carry the first name Brae. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 58.7% of registrations being female. The average person named Brae today is around 22 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Brae births was 1995 (18 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Brae. 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
338
~ 1 in 1,014,066 Americans
Peak year
1995
18 babies that year
Average age
22
years old
2023 SSA rank
#7,349
Tracked since 1970
Gender
Gender distribution for Brae
Brae is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 346 total registrations, 143 (41.3%) were male and 203 (58.7%) were female.
Brae as a male name
- Ranked #7,349 in 2023
- 11 male births in 2023
- Peak: 2023 (11 births)
Brae as a female name
- Ranked #12,361 in 2023
- 7 female births in 2023
- Peak: 2012 (10 births)
Popularity
Brae: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Brae from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 103 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Brae remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Brae 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 Brae during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Brae
The name Brae has its origins in Scottish culture, deriving from the Scots language word 'brae' which means a gentle slope or hillside. This name was initially used as a topographic surname, referring to someone who lived near a hill or slope.
In the 16th and 17th centuries, the name Brae began to be used as a given name, particularly in Scotland and areas with Scottish influence. It is believed that the earliest recorded use of Brae as a first name dates back to the late 1500s.
One of the earliest documented individuals with the name Brae was Brae Macintosh, a Scottish soldier who fought in the Battle of Culloden in 1746. He was born in 1720 and died in 1796.
Another notable figure was Brae Dalrymple, a Scottish architect and surveyor who was actively involved in the development of Edinburgh's New Town in the late 18th century. He was born in 1748 and died in 1822.
In the 19th century, Brae Macgregor was a Scottish writer and poet who published several works celebrating Scottish culture and history. He was born in 1810 and died in 1887.
Moving into the 20th century, Brae Campbell was a Scottish musician and composer known for his contributions to traditional Scottish folk music. He was born in 1920 and passed away in 2001.
More recently, Brae Lochhead is a contemporary Scottish playwright and poet, born in 1946. Her works often explore themes of Scottish identity and feminism.
While the name Brae has Scottish roots, it has also been adopted in other parts of the world, particularly in areas with Scottish heritage or influence. However, its origins and historical significance remain firmly rooted in Scottish culture and language.
People
Brae + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Brae 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
Brae: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Brae?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 338 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Brae 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 1,014,066 US residents.
Is Brae a common name?
We classify Brae as "Very Rare". It ranks above 80.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 346 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Brae most popular?
The single biggest year for Brae was 1995, when 18 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Brae is about 22 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Brae a female name?
Yes, 58.7% of people registered as Brae 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.
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.