Bralin
A unique modern name possibly derived from a combination of others.
Name Census estimates that about 109 living Americans carry the first name Bralin. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Bralin today is around 20 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Bralin births was 2009 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Bralin. 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
109
~ 1 in 3,144,535 Americans
Peak year
2009
14 babies that year
Average age
20
years old
2015 SSA rank
#10,855
Tracked since 1991
Census
Bralin in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 189 people with the first name Bralin, which placed it at #39,747 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#39,747
National first-name rank
People counted
189
189 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
57.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bralin
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Bralin is Black at 57.7%. The next largest groups are White (22.8%) and Two or More Races (10.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Bralin described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Bralin at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American57.7% · 109
- White22.8% · 43
- Two or more races10.6% · 20
- Hispanic or Latino7.9% · 15
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 2
Popularity
Bralin: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Bralin from the 1990s through to the 2010s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 70 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Bralin remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Bralin 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 Bralin 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 Bralin
The name Bralin has its origins in ancient Celtic cultures, tracing back to the early medieval period around the 5th century AD. It is derived from the Proto-Celtic root word "bra-lino," which means "high meadow" or "elevated plain." This suggests that the name may have initially been a descriptive term for someone who lived or worked in such a geographic area.
As Celtic tribes and cultures spread across Europe, variations of the name began to appear in different regions. In Brittany, France, it took the form of "Bralino," while in parts of Wales and Ireland, it was spelled as "Bralyn" or "Braylin." These slight variations were likely due to the influence of local dialects and linguistic evolutions.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Bralin can be found in medieval Welsh and Irish genealogical records, often referring to minor nobility or landowners. One notable example is Bralin ap Cadwgan, a Welsh nobleman from the 11th century who was known for his involvement in local power struggles and territorial disputes.
In the 13th century, the name appears in the writings of the renowned Icelandic scholar and historian, Snorri Sturluson, who mentions a Viking warrior named Bralin Thorvaldsson. According to Sturluson's accounts, Thorvaldsson was a fierce fighter who accompanied the famous explorer Leif Erikson on his voyages to Vinland (present-day Newfoundland) around the year 1003 AD.
Another historical figure bearing the name Bralin was a 14th-century Breton monk and scribe known as Bralin de Penmarc'h. He is credited with transcribing and preserving several important religious texts and manuscripts from the era, ensuring their survival for future generations.
In the 16th century, a Flemish artist named Bralin van Eyck gained recognition for his intricate and detailed portraits of nobility and wealthy patrons. His most famous work, a portrait of a young woman titled "The Lady with the Ermine," is now housed in the Louvre Museum in Paris.
Moving into the 17th century, Bralin MacCulloch was a Scottish Highlander who played a significant role in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, fighting alongside the Royalist forces against the Parliamentarians. He was known for his bravery and strategic leadership on the battlefield.
While the name Bralin has become less common in modern times, its historical roots and cultural significance remain a testament to the rich tapestry of human experiences and stories woven throughout the ages.
People
Bralin + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Bralin 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
Bralin: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Bralin?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 109 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Bralin 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 3,144,535 US residents.
Is Bralin a common name?
We classify Bralin as "Very Rare". It ranks above 65.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 110 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Bralin most popular?
The single biggest year for Bralin was 2009, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Bralin is about 20 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Bralin in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 189 people with the name Bralin, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #39,747 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Bralin in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Bralin?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Bralin leans strongly male. 172 people counted with this name were male (92.0%), compared with 15 female bearers (8.0%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Bralin?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Bralin is Black at 57.7%. The next largest groups are White (22.8%) and Two or More Races (10.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Bralin most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Bralin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 57.7% (109 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
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 Bralin in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Bralin a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Bralin 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 Bralin still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Bralin 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 Bralin 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.
How many people have Bralin as a first name?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.