Brandelyn
A feminine name of English origin meaning "woman from the burned ground".
Name Census estimates that about 164 living Americans carry the first name Brandelyn. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Brandelyn today is around 45 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Brandelyn births was 1975 (15 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Brandelyn. 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
164
~ 1 in 2,089,965 Americans
Peak year
1975
15 babies that year
Average age
45
years old
1997 SSA rank
#14,024
Tracked since 1970
Census
Brandelyn in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 189 people with the first name Brandelyn, 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
White
72.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Brandelyn
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Brandelyn is White at 72.0%. The next largest groups are Black (15.9%) and Two or More Races (6.3%). 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 Brandelyn 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 Brandelyn at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White72.0% · 136
- Black or African American15.9% · 30
- Two or more races6.3% · 12
- Hispanic or Latino4.2% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 1
Popularity
Brandelyn: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Brandelyn from the 1970s through to the 1990s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 95 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Brandelyn 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 Brandelyn 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 Brandelyn
The name Brandelyn has its origins in medieval Europe, specifically in the Germanic languages. It is believed to have been derived from the Old Germanic word "brand," which meant "fire" or "sword." This root word is found in many other names and words from various Germanic languages.
The earliest recorded use of the name Brandelyn dates back to the 12th century, where it appeared in various records and chronicles from Germany and the Netherlands. It was initially a masculine name, often given to sons of warriors or blacksmiths, as it was seen to symbolize strength, courage, and a fiery spirit.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Brandelyn von Stein, a German knight who participated in the Third Crusade in the late 12th century. His name was recorded in several chronicles detailing the events of the crusade.
In the 14th century, the name Brandelyn appeared in a collection of religious texts known as the "Codex Gigas," which was created by a group of Benedictine monks in what is now the Czech Republic. The text mentions a monk named Brandelyn, who was known for his dedication to his faith and his scholarly pursuits.
As the name spread throughout Europe, it began to take on different spellings and variations, such as Brandelina, Brandelyne, and Brandelinda. These variations often reflected the local languages and dialects of the regions where the name was used.
One notable historical figure who bore the name Brandelyn was Brandelyn of Bingen, a 12th-century German abbess, composer, and writer. She was renowned for her contributions to the fields of music, philosophy, and natural sciences. Her works, including her compositions and writings on various topics, have been preserved and studied by scholars for centuries.
Another significant figure was Brandelyn van der Meer, a 16th-century Dutch artist and engraver. She was known for her intricate and detailed engravings, many of which depicted religious scenes and portraits of notable figures of her time.
In the 17th century, Brandelyn Strozzi, an Italian composer and singer, gained recognition for her contributions to the development of the opera genre. She was one of the first women to achieve success and recognition as a professional composer during a time when the musical world was largely dominated by men.
Despite its ancient origins and historical significance, the name Brandelyn fell out of widespread use in many parts of Europe by the 19th century. However, it has experienced a resurgence in recent decades, particularly in certain regions, where it continues to be used as a unique and distinctive name choice.
People
Brandelyn + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Brandelyn 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
Brandelyn: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Brandelyn?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 164 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Brandelyn 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 2,089,965 US residents.
Is Brandelyn a common name?
We classify Brandelyn as "Very Rare". It ranks above 71.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 177 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Brandelyn most popular?
The single biggest year for Brandelyn was 1975, when 15 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Brandelyn is about 45 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Brandelyn in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 189 people with the name Brandelyn, 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 Brandelyn 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 Brandelyn?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Brandelyn appears almost entirely female. Of the 191 people counted with this name, 100.0% 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 Brandelyn?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Brandelyn is White at 72.0%. The next largest groups are Black (15.9%) and Two or More Races (6.3%). 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 Brandelyn most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Brandelyn in the 2020 Census, accounting for 72.0% (136 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 Brandelyn in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Brandelyn a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Brandelyn 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 Brandelyn still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Brandelyn 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 Brandelyn 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 are called Brandelyn?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the name Brandelyn at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.