Brandalynn
A feminine name of unknown origin, perhaps a blend of Branda and Lynn.
Name Census estimates that about 121 living Americans carry the first name Brandalynn. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Brandalynn today is around 34 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Brandalynn births was 1982 (16 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Brandalynn. 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
121
~ 1 in 2,832,680 Americans
Peak year
1982
16 babies that year
Average age
34
years old
2014 SSA rank
#16,993
Tracked since 1978
Census
Brandalynn in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 158 people with the first name Brandalynn, which placed it at #44,091 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
#44,091
National first-name rank
People counted
158
158 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
71.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Brandalynn
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Brandalynn is White at 71.5%. The next largest groups are Black (9.5%) and Hispanic (9.5%). 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 Brandalynn 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 Brandalynn at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White71.5% · 113
- Black or African American9.5% · 15
- Hispanic or Latino9.5% · 15
- Two or more races5.7% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native3.8% · 6
Popularity
Brandalynn: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Brandalynn from the 1970s through to the 2010s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 55 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1980s peak, Brandalynn remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Brandalynn 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 Brandalynn 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 Brandalynn
The name Brandalynn is a relatively modern invention, likely originating in the English-speaking world in the late 20th century. It appears to be a combination of the more traditional names Brandon and Lynn, but its precise roots are unclear.
One theory suggests that the name Brandalynn was created by blending Brandon, a masculine name derived from the Old English words "bran" (meaning burnt or fire) and "dun" (a hill or low ridge), with Lynn, a feminine name with origins in the Celtic word "linn" (meaning a lake or pool). This fusion of elements was perhaps intended to create a unique and gender-neutral name.
Another possibility is that Brandalynn was simply a creative invention, with no direct linguistic or historical roots. It may have been constructed by parents seeking a distinctive name for their child, drawing inspiration from the sounds and aesthetics of more established names.
Unfortunately, there are no known historical references or ancient texts that mention the name Brandalynn, as it is a relatively recent coinage. However, a few notable individuals have borne this name throughout the past few decades.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Brandalynn appears to be Brandalynn Dougherty, a singer and songwriter from the United States who released her debut album in the early 1990s. Another individual with this name is Brandalynn Hunt, an American actress and model who has appeared in various television shows and films since the late 1990s.
Another Brandalynn of note is Brandalynn Wagner, an American artist and sculptor who has exhibited her works in galleries across the United States since the early 2000s. Brandalynn Dickerson, an American writer and poet, has also published several collections of her works since the late 1990s.
Finally, Brandalynn Moore, an American professional basketball player, has played in various leagues and teams since the early 2010s, showcasing her athletic abilities under this unique name.
While the name Brandalynn may be a modern invention, it has gained a small but notable foothold in various fields, from the arts to sports, with individuals bearing this name making their mark in recent decades.
People
Brandalynn + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Brandalynn 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
Brandalynn: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Brandalynn?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 121 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Brandalynn 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 2,832,680 US residents.
Is Brandalynn a common name?
We classify Brandalynn as "Very Rare". It ranks above 67.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 127 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Brandalynn most popular?
The single biggest year for Brandalynn was 1982, when 16 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Brandalynn is about 34 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Brandalynn in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 158 people with the name Brandalynn, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #44,091 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 Brandalynn 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 Brandalynn?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Brandalynn appears almost entirely female. Of the 148 people counted with this name, 99.3% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Brandalynn?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Brandalynn is White at 71.5%. The next largest groups are Black (9.5%) and Hispanic (9.5%). 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 Brandalynn most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Brandalynn in the 2020 Census, accounting for 71.5% (113 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 Brandalynn in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Brandalynn a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Brandalynn 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.
Is Brandalynn still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Brandalynn 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 Brandalynn 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 the name Brandalynn?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans are named Brandalynn at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.