Braven
A coined masculine name possibly derived from "brave" and connoting courage.
Name Census estimates that about 1,032 living Americans carry the first name Braven. It is a predominantly male name (97.0% of registrations). The average person named Braven today is around 10 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Braven births was 2018 (107 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Braven. 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 Braven with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Braven is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 10 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
1.0K
~ 1 in 332,126 Americans
Peak year
2018
107 babies that year
Average age
10
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,368
Tracked since 1994
Census
Braven in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 638 people with the first name Braven, which placed it at #17,339 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
#17,339
National first-name rank
People counted
638
638 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
59.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Braven
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Braven is White at 59.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (12.5%) and Hispanic (11.0%). 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 Braven 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 Braven at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White59.9% · 382
- Two or more races12.5% · 80
- Hispanic or Latino11.0% · 70
- Black or African American7.5% · 48
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.8% · 37
- American Indian and Alaska Native3.3% · 21
Gender
Gender distribution for Braven
Braven leans heavily male at 97.0% of total registrations, but 31 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Braven as a male name
- Ranked #2,368 in 2024
- 59 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2018 (107 births)
Braven as a female name
- Ranked #13,877 in 2022
- 6 female births in 2022
- Peak: 2019 (11 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Braven leans strongly male. 596 people counted with this name were male (94.6%), compared with 34 female bearers (5.4%).
Popularity
Braven: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Braven from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 493 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Braven remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Braven 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 Braven during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Bravens live
The SSA's state-level files cover 14 states and territories. California, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Braven, while Utah, Michigan, Arizona recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 14 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Braven
The given name Braven is a relatively modern invention, with no clear origin or etymology from a specific language or culture. It does not appear to be derived from any known ancient words or have any direct historical references in ancient texts, religious scriptures, or historical records.
However, the name Braven may have been inspired by the combination of the English words "brave" and "raven," a bird often associated with courage and strength in various mythologies and folklore. This combination could symbolize a person who is courageous, bold, and determined, like the raven.
While the name Braven itself is not found in historical records, there are a few individuals who have been given this name in recent times. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Braven is Braven Dyer, an American writer and professor born in 1957. He is known for his work on environmental literature and has published several books on the subject.
Another notable person named Braven is Braven Carlson, a Norwegian-American businessman and entrepreneur born in 1968. He co-founded a successful technology company and has been recognized for his innovative work in the field of software development.
In the world of sports, there is Braven Hines, an American football player born in 1982. He played as a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for several teams, including the New Orleans Saints and the St. Louis Rams.
Braven Fiddler, born in 1975, is a Canadian actor and filmmaker of Indigenous descent. He has appeared in various television shows and movies, showcasing his talent and promoting the representation of Indigenous communities in the entertainment industry.
Lastly, Braven Woodruff, born in 1991, is a British artist and illustrator known for his vibrant and whimsical artwork. His unique style has earned him recognition in the art world, and his pieces have been featured in numerous exhibitions and galleries.
While the name Braven is relatively new and its origin is unclear, these individuals have helped establish its presence and contributed to its recognition as a unique and distinctive given name.
People
Braven + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Braven 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
Braven: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Braven?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,032 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Braven 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 332,126 US residents.
Is Braven a common name?
We classify Braven as "Rare". It ranks above 90.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,040 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Braven most popular?
The single biggest year for Braven was 2018, when 107 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Braven is about 10 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Braven in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 638 people with the name Braven, or 0.21 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #17,339 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 Braven 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 Braven?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Braven leans strongly male. 596 people counted with this name were male (94.6%), compared with 34 female bearers (5.4%). 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 Braven?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Braven is White at 59.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (12.5%) and Hispanic (11.0%). 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 Braven most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Braven in the 2020 Census, accounting for 59.9% (382 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 Braven in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Braven a male name?
Yes, 97.0% of people registered as Braven 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 Braven still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Braven 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 Braven 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 Braven?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.