Bran
Meaning "raven" from the Welsh name Bran the Blessed.
Name Census estimates that about 225 living Americans carry the first name Bran. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Bran today is around 24 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Bran births was 2021 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Bran. 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
225
~ 1 in 1,523,353 Americans
Peak year
2021
14 babies that year
Average age
24
years old
2024 SSA rank
#11,099
Tracked since 1970
Popularity
Bran: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Bran from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 93 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Bran remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Bran 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 Bran 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 Bran
The given name Bran has its origins in ancient Celtic cultures, deriving from the Old Celtic word "brenhin" or "bran," meaning "raven" or "crow." The name was particularly prominent among the Welsh, Irish, and Breton peoples.
In Welsh mythology, Bran the Blessed, also known as Bendigeidfran, was a prominent figure. He was a legendary giant and king of Britain who features prominently in the Mabinogion, a collection of medieval Welsh tales. Bran's name is often associated with the idea of protection and strength.
The earliest recorded example of the name Bran can be traced back to the 6th century AD, when it was mentioned in the Annales Cambriae, a medieval chronicle of Welsh history. Bran ap Llyr, a legendary Welsh figure, was also a prominent bearer of the name during this period.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Bran. One of the most famous was Bran Mac Febail (c. 628 - 601 BC), an Irish king who ruled over the province of Leinster and is mentioned in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology.
Another notable bearer of the name was Bran Ardchenn (c. 360 - 390 AD), a legendary Welsh king who is mentioned in the Trioedd Ynys Prydein, a collection of Welsh triads.
In the 7th century, Bran Fendigaid (c. 628 - 654 AD) was a prince of Gwynedd, a Welsh kingdom, and is remembered for his role in the Battle of Winwaed against the Mercians.
During the Middle Ages, the name Bran was also used by Bran Mor (c. 1100 - 1176), a Welsh prince and the founder of the House of Mathrafal, a prominent Welsh dynasty.
In more recent times, the name Bran gained prominence through Bran Davies (1859 - 1904), a Welsh composer and musician who was instrumental in preserving and promoting traditional Welsh music and culture.
People
Bran + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Bran 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
Bran: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Bran?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 225 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Bran 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 1,523,353 US residents.
Is Bran a common name?
We classify Bran as "Very Rare". It ranks above 75.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 232 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Bran most popular?
The single biggest year for Bran was 2021, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Bran is about 24 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Bran a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Bran 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.
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.