Bralan
Of uncertain origin and meaning, potentially a blend of Celtic roots.
Name Census estimates that about 6 living Americans carry the first name Bralan. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Bralan today is around 19 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Bralan births was 2007 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Bralan. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Bralan. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
6
~ 1 in 57,125,723 Americans
Peak year
2007
6 babies that year
Average age
19
years old
2007 SSA rank
#11,098
Tracked since 2007
Popularity
Bralan: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Bralan 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 Bralan during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 6 | 0 | 6 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Bralan
The name Bralan is believed to have its origins in the ancient Celtic language spoken by the Britons who inhabited the British Isles before the Roman conquest. It is derived from the Celtic root words "bra" meaning "hill" or "high place" and "lan" meaning "land" or "territory". Together, the name Bralan may have originally referred to someone who lived or worked on higher ground or in the hill country.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Bralan appears in the Annales Cambriae, a medieval chronicle written in Wales around the 10th century CE. It mentions a Bralan ap Cadwgon, who is described as a prince or chieftain in the region of Gwynedd in the year 637 CE. This suggests the name was in use among the Celtic Britons at least as far back as the 7th century.
In the 12th century, a monk named Bralan is recorded as having lived at the monastery of St. David's in Pembrokeshire, Wales. He was known for his skill as a scribe and calligrapher, and several illuminated manuscripts are attributed to his hand, though the exact dates of his birth and death are unknown.
A notable figure named Bralan ap Rhys (c. 1180-1232) was a Welsh nobleman and military leader who fought against the Norman invaders in the early 13th century. He is recorded as having led troops from Deheubarth in several battles to resist the conquest of Wales by the English king John.
In Irish legend, there is a mythical figure named Bralan the Bard who is said to have composed many heroic tales and poems celebrating the deeds of ancient Celtic warriors and kings. While his existence cannot be historically verified, stories of Bralan the Bard were passed down through oral tradition for centuries.
A later historical Bralan was a 17th century Welsh pirate captain named Bralan Bevan (c. 1625-1701) who sailed the Caribbean and preyed on Spanish shipping during the era of buccaneers and privateers. Despite his infamous occupation, he was also known as a cultured man who sponsored the writing and preservation of Welsh poetry and music.
People
Bralan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Bralan 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
Bralan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Bralan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 6 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Bralan 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 57,125,723 US residents.
Is Bralan a common name?
We classify Bralan as "Very Rare". It ranks above 22.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 6 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Bralan most popular?
The single biggest year for Bralan was 2007, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Bralan is about 19 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Bralan in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Bralan a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Bralan in the SSA data are male. 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 Bralan still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Bralan 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 Bralan 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How common is the name Bralan?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.