Branco
Of Portuguese origin meaning "white" or "light-colored".
Name Census estimates that about 10 living Americans carry the first name Branco. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Branco today is around 28 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Branco births was 1997 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Branco. 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 Branco. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
10
~ 1 in 34,275,434 Americans
Peak year
1997
5 babies that year
Average age
28
years old
1998 SSA rank
#9,800
Tracked since 1997
Popularity
Branco: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Branco 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 Branco during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 10 | 0 | 10 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Branco
The given name Branco has its origins in the Portuguese and Spanish languages, derived from the word "branco," which means "white" or "pale" in both languages. This name first appeared in the Iberian Peninsula during the medieval period, likely as a descriptive nickname for someone with pale skin or light-colored hair.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Branco can be found in the "Cancioneiro da Ajuda," a 13th-century Portuguese songbook that contains a reference to a person named "Pero Branco." This suggests that the name was already in use as a surname or byname during that time.
Throughout the centuries, the name Branco has been associated with various historical figures, particularly in Portugal and Spain. One notable example is Branco Bernardino, a 16th-century Portuguese navigator and explorer who participated in several expeditions to the East Indies and the Americas.
Another individual bearing the name Branco was Francisco Branco Correia, a 17th-century Portuguese writer and historian known for his work "Monarchia Lusitana," which chronicled the history of Portugal's monarchy.
In the realm of religion, there was a Spanish Jesuit priest named Branco de Sotomajor, who lived in the 17th century and served as a missionary in South America, contributing to the evangelization efforts in the region.
Moving forward to the 19th century, there was a Brazilian military officer and politician named Branco Muniz Barreto, who played a significant role in the region's struggle for independence from Portugal.
Lastly, a more recent historical figure with the name Branco was Jaime Branco, a Portuguese architect and urban planner who lived from 1901 to 1989 and was responsible for designing several notable buildings and urban projects in Portugal.
While these are just a few examples, the name Branco has a rich history spanning various cultures and time periods, serving as a reminder of the diverse and fascinating origins of personal names.
People
Branco + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Branco 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
Branco: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Branco?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 10 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Branco 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 34,275,434 US residents.
Is Branco a common name?
We classify Branco as "Very Rare". It ranks above 28.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 10 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Branco most popular?
The single biggest year for Branco was 1997, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Branco is about 28 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 Branco in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Branco a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Branco 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 Branco still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Branco 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 Branco 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 many people have Branco as a first name?
If you just want to know how many people share the name Branco, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.