Brandy
A feminine given name of uncertain origin, perhaps from the English word for a distilled beverage.
Name Census estimates that about 101,426 living Americans carry the first name Brandy. It is a predominantly female name (97.9% of registrations). The average person named Brandy today is around 43 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Brandy births was 1981 (6,962 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Brandy. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Brandy with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Brandy is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 2,297 boys registered with the name since 1880.
- • Compared to the 1980s, recent registration numbers for Brandy have dropped to less than 5% of what they once were.
People living today
101K
~ 1 in 3,379 Americans
Peak year
1981
6,962 babies that year
Average age
43
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,221
Tracked since 1942
Census
Brandy in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 92,457 people with the first name Brandy, which placed it at #577 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
#577
National first-name rank
People counted
92K
92,457 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
30.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
74.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Brandy
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Brandy is White at 74.8%. The next largest groups are Black (10.8%) and Hispanic (7.9%). 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 Brandy 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 Brandy at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White74.8% · 69,160
- Black or African American10.8% · 9,973
- Hispanic or Latino7.9% · 7,316
- Two or more races4.6% · 4,271
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 1,056
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 681
Gender
Gender distribution for Brandy
Brandy leans heavily female at 97.9% of total registrations, but 2,297 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Brandy as a male name
- Ranked #6,872 in 2024
- 12 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1975 (103 births)
Brandy as a female name
- Ranked #3,221 in 2024
- 49 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1981 (6,897 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Brandy leans strongly female. 90,904 people counted with this name were female (98.3%), compared with 1,545 male bearers (1.7%).
Popularity
Brandy: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Brandy from the 1940s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 45,102 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
Brandy 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 Brandy during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Brandys live
The SSA's state-level files cover 51 states and territories. Texas, California, Ohio recorded the most babies named Brandy, while Rhode Island, Vermont, District of Columbia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 2,057 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Brandy
The name Brandy has its origins in the Dutch word "brandewijn," which means "burnt wine." This term was initially used to describe the distilled alcoholic beverage made from wine, which later became known as brandy. The name's connection to the liquor can be traced back to the 16th century when the process of distilling wine into a more potent spirit was developed in the Netherlands.
The earliest recorded use of Brandy as a given name dates back to the late 17th century, when it began to emerge as a surname in England and other parts of Europe. This was likely influenced by the growing popularity of the brandy beverage during that time. As a first name, Brandy gained traction in the United States and other English-speaking countries in the 20th century, particularly from the 1960s onwards.
One of the earliest notable individuals with the first name Brandy was Brandy Norwood, an American singer, songwriter, and actress born in 1979. She achieved massive success in the late 1990s and early 2000s with hit songs like "The Boy Is Mine" and her debut album, "Brandy." Another famous Brandy was Brandy Ledford, an American actress best known for her role in the television series "Gunsmoke," born in 1949.
In the world of sports, Brandy Reed, an American professional basketball player born in 1974, made a name for herself in the WNBA. Brandy Burre, an American actress and filmmaker born in 1979, is also notable for her work in independent films and television shows.
One of the earliest historical figures with the first name Brandy was Brandy Howard, an American actress and singer who was active in the early 20th century, born in 1892. Although her career spanned several decades, little is known about her personal life and exact death date.
While the name Brandy has its roots in the alcoholic beverage, it has evolved over time to become a unique and distinct given name, particularly popular in the United States. Its association with notable individuals in various fields has contributed to its enduring appeal and recognition.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Brandy
People
Brandy + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Brandy 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
Brandy: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Brandy?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 101,426 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Brandy 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 3,379 US residents.
Is Brandy a common name?
We classify Brandy as "Common". It ranks above 99.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 108,799 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Brandy most popular?
The single biggest year for Brandy was 1981, when 6,962 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Brandy is about 43 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Brandy in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 92,457 people with the name Brandy, or 30.61 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #577 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 Brandy 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 Brandy?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Brandy leans strongly female. 90,904 people counted with this name were female (98.3%), compared with 1,545 male bearers (1.7%). 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 Brandy?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Brandy is White at 74.8%. The next largest groups are Black (10.8%) and Hispanic (7.9%). 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 Brandy most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Brandy in the 2020 Census, accounting for 74.8% (69,160 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 Brandy in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Brandy a female name?
Yes, 97.9% of people registered as Brandy 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 Brandy still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Brandy 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 Brandy 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 share the name Brandy?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.