Branwen
A feminine Welsh name meaning "beautiful raven" or "white raven."
Name Census estimates that about 41 living Americans carry the first name Branwen. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Branwen today is around 21 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Branwen births was 1975 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Branwen. 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 Branwen with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Branwen. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
41
~ 1 in 8,359,862 Americans
Peak year
1975
6 babies that year
Average age
21
years old
2019 SSA rank
#15,930
Tracked since 1975
Popularity
Branwen: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Branwen from the 1970s through to the 2010s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 20 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Branwen remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Branwen 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 Branwen 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 Branwen
The name Branwen is a Welsh feminine name with origins dating back to medieval Welsh literature and mythology. It is derived from the Welsh words "bran" meaning "raven" or "crow" and "gwen" meaning "fair", "blessed", or "holy". Together, the name Branwen can be interpreted to mean "blessed raven" or "white raven".
Branwen is prominently featured in the ancient Welsh tales known as the Mabinogion, a collection of prose stories from the medieval period. In the Second Branch of the Mabinogion, Branwen is the daughter of the mythical King Llŷr and the sister of the famous characters Bran the Blessed and Manawydan. Her story revolves around her ill-fated marriage to the Irish king Matholwch, which ultimately leads to a destructive war between the Welsh and the Irish.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Branwen can be found in the Mabinogion itself, which is believed to have been compiled in the 12th or 13th century from much older oral traditions. The name's association with Welsh mythology and literature has made it a popular choice among the Welsh people for centuries.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Branwen. One of the most famous was Branwen ferch Llywelyn (1252-1284), a Welsh princess and daughter of Llywelyn the Great, the last sovereign prince of Wales. Another notable Branwen was Branwen ferch Gruffydd (c. 1268-1344), a Welsh noblewoman and the wife of Rhys ap Maredudd, Lord of Dryslwyn.
In the 20th century, Branwen Jellico (1892-1976) was a Welsh artist and printmaker known for her landscape etchings and woodcuts. Branwen Lewis (1905-1979) was a Welsh actress and singer who performed in both Welsh and English language productions.
Additionally, Branwen Prater (1928-2009) was a Welsh author and poet who wrote extensively in both Welsh and English, and Branwen Griffith (1933-2021) was a prominent Welsh historian and academic who specialized in the study of Welsh literature and culture.
People
Branwen + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Branwen 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
Branwen: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Branwen?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 41 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Branwen 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 8,359,862 US residents.
Is Branwen a common name?
We classify Branwen as "Very Rare". It ranks above 51.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 42 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Branwen most popular?
The single biggest year for Branwen was 1975, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Branwen is about 21 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Branwen in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Branwen a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Branwen 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 Branwen still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Branwen 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 Branwen 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people are called Branwen?
Find out how many people have the name Branwen on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.