Brandey
A diminutive form of the name Brandy, originally a nickname for someone with a brown complexion.
Name Census estimates that about 196 living Americans carry the first name Brandey. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Brandey today is around 42 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Brandey births was 1977 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Brandey. 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
196
~ 1 in 1,748,747 Americans
Peak year
1977
14 babies that year
Average age
42
years old
2000 SSA rank
#13,402
Tracked since 1973
Popularity
Brandey: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Brandey from the 1970s through to the 2000s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 86 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
Brandey 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 Brandey 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 Brandey
The given name Brandey is of English origin, derived from the Old English word "bran," meaning "burning" or "fiery." This name likely emerged during the Anglo-Saxon period, around the 5th to 11th centuries AD, and was initially used as a descriptive surname or nickname for individuals with fiery red hair or a passionate temperament.
The earliest recorded use of the name Brandey can be traced back to the late 12th century, when it appeared in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire, England. These rolls were administrative records kept by the English Exchequer, and they mention a person named "Brandey de Bristowe" in the year 1189.
One of the earliest notable individuals with the name Brandey was Sir Brandey de Montfort, a 13th-century English knight who fought alongside Simon de Montfort during the Second Barons' War against King Henry III. He was born around 1230 and died in the Battle of Evesham in 1265.
Another historical figure bearing the name Brandey was Brandey FitzGerald, an Irish nobleman who lived in the late 14th century. He was a member of the powerful FitzGerald dynasty and served as the Lord of Decies, a territory in County Waterford, Ireland.
In the 16th century, Brandey Holliday was a renowned English poet and playwright. Born around 1550 in Staffordshire, he is best known for his contributions to the development of the English Renaissance theater and his collaborations with William Shakespeare.
During the 17th century, Brandey Willoughby was a prominent English merchant and member of the East India Company. He was born in 1620 in London and played a significant role in establishing trade routes between England and the Indian subcontinent.
In more recent history, Brandey Stevenson was an American abolitionist and women's rights activist who lived from 1825 to 1890. She was a close friend and associate of Frederick Douglass and played a crucial role in the anti-slavery movement in the United States.
While the name Brandey has its roots in Old English, it has been used across various cultures and regions throughout history, reflecting the diverse backgrounds and experiences of those who bore this name.
People
Brandey + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Brandey 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
Brandey: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Brandey?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 196 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Brandey 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 1,748,747 US residents.
Is Brandey a common name?
We classify Brandey as "Very Rare". It ranks above 74% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 209 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Brandey most popular?
The single biggest year for Brandey was 1977, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Brandey is about 42 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Brandey a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Brandey 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.
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.