Brandyn
Variant form of Brandon, a masculine name of English origin meaning "broom hill".
Name Census estimates that about 5,048 living Americans carry the first name Brandyn. It is a predominantly male name (91.5% of registrations). The average person named Brandyn today is around 30 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Brandyn births was 1992 (269 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Brandyn. 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 Brandyn with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
5.0K
~ 1 in 67,899 Americans
Peak year
1992
269 babies that year
Average age
30
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,379
Tracked since 1968
Census
Brandyn in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 4,023 people with the first name Brandyn, which placed it at #4,572 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
#4,572
National first-name rank
People counted
4.0K
4,023 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
61.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Brandyn
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Brandyn is White at 61.5%. The next largest groups are Black (17.3%) and Hispanic (11.9%). 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 Brandyn 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 Brandyn at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White61.5% · 2,474
- Black or African American17.3% · 695
- Hispanic or Latino11.9% · 478
- Two or more races6.8% · 274
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.6% · 65
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 37
Gender
Gender distribution for Brandyn
Brandyn leans heavily male at 91.5% of total registrations, but 442 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Brandyn as a male name
- Ranked #8,379 in 2024
- 9 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1992 (259 births)
Brandyn as a female name
- Ranked #13,708 in 2024
- 6 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1974 (47 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Brandyn leans strongly male. 3,655 people counted with this name were male (90.7%), compared with 376 female bearers (9.3%).
Popularity
Brandyn: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Brandyn from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 2,104 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Brandyn 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 Brandyn during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Brandyns live
The SSA's state-level files cover 27 states and territories. California, New York, Texas recorded the most babies named Brandyn, while Tennessee, North Dakota, Maine recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 97 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Brandyn
The name Brandyn has its origins in the Old English language, tracing back to the 5th century AD. It is derived from the Old English word "bran," meaning "brand" or "sword," combined with the suffix "-yn," which was a common ending for masculine names during that era. The name was initially used by Anglo-Saxon tribes inhabiting the regions that are now parts of modern-day England and Scotland.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Brandyn can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of land ownership in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The entry refers to a landowner named Brandyn de Welby, whose estate was located in the county of Leicestershire.
In the 12th century, a prominent figure named Brandyn de Bois fought alongside Richard the Lionheart during the Third Crusade. He was celebrated for his bravery and skill in battle, and his name was immortalized in several contemporary chronicles and ballads.
During the Middle Ages, the name Brandyn was particularly popular among noble families in England and France. Notable individuals bearing this name include Brandyn de Montfort (1238-1265), a member of the powerful Montfort family and a key figure in the Second Barons' War against King Henry III.
In the 14th century, a renowned English scholar and theologian named Brandyn Kyngeston (1292-1363) gained fame for his contributions to the study of canon law and his role in the founding of the University of Cambridge.
Another notable figure was Brandyn Fitzalan (1347-1419), a powerful English nobleman and military commander who served as Lord Marshal of England under King Henry IV. He played a crucial role in the suppression of the Welsh Revolt led by Owain Glyndŵr.
While the name Brandyn has its roots in the Anglo-Saxon tradition, it has been adopted and adapted across various cultures and languages over the centuries. Its enduring popularity can be attributed to its strong, masculine connotations and its association with historical figures known for their valor, leadership, and scholarly pursuits.
People
Brandyn + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Brandyn 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
Brandyn: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Brandyn?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5,048 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Brandyn 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 67,899 US residents.
Is Brandyn a common name?
We classify Brandyn as "Rare". It ranks above 96.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5,193 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Brandyn most popular?
The single biggest year for Brandyn was 1992, when 269 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Brandyn is about 30 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Brandyn in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 4,023 people with the name Brandyn, or 1.33 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #4,572 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 Brandyn 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 Brandyn?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Brandyn leans strongly male. 3,655 people counted with this name were male (90.7%), compared with 376 female bearers (9.3%). 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 Brandyn?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Brandyn is White at 61.5%. The next largest groups are Black (17.3%) and Hispanic (11.9%). 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 Brandyn most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Brandyn in the 2020 Census, accounting for 61.5% (2,474 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 Brandyn in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Brandyn a male name?
Yes, 91.5% of people registered as Brandyn 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 Brandyn still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Brandyn 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 Brandyn 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 common is the name Brandyn?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.