Breandan
Old Celtic name derived from a word meaning "prince" or "noble."
Name Census estimates that about 161 living Americans carry the first name Breandan. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Breandan today is around 24 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Breandan births was 2006 (13 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Breandan. 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
161
~ 1 in 2,128,909 Americans
Peak year
2006
13 babies that year
Average age
24
years old
2016 SSA rank
#8,238
Tracked since 1978
Popularity
Breandan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Breandan from the 1970s through to the 2010s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 70 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Breandan remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Breandan 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 Breandan 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 Breandan
The name Breandan is derived from the Old Irish name Brénainn, which is thought to have originated from the Gaelic word "bren" meaning "rain" or "drop." This suggests that the name may have been associated with weather or natural elements in its early usage. The name is also sometimes spelled as Brendan or Brenainn.
It is believed that the name Breandan has been in use since the 5th century AD, when it was borne by the Irish Christian missionary and saint, St. Brendan the Navigator. St. Brendan is renowned for his legendary journey across the Atlantic Ocean, which is recounted in the medieval text "Navigatio Sancti Brendani Abbatis" (The Voyage of Saint Brendan the Abbot).
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Breandan can be found in the Irish annals, where it is mentioned in reference to Breandan Biror, an Irish monk who died in 573 AD. Another notable figure was Breandan of Clonfert, an Irish abbot and monastic founder who lived in the 6th century.
Throughout history, several other notable individuals have borne the name Breandan. These include Breandan Beolan, an Irish poet and historian who lived in the 7th century, and Breandan Ua Conchobair, an Irish king of Connacht who reigned in the 12th century.
In more recent times, the name Breandan has been carried by Breandan Irvine, an Irish actor born in 1944, and Breandan Ó Muirí, an Irish language scholar and writer who lived from 1886 to 1962.
Breandan also gained prominence through the character of Brendan Bracken, a British politician and close adviser to Winston Churchill, who was born in 1901 and died in 1958.
While the name Breandan has its roots in Irish and Gaelic culture, it has since been adopted and used in various parts of the world, particularly in English-speaking countries with Irish heritage or connections.
People
Breandan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Breandan 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
Breandan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Breandan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 161 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Breandan 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 2,128,909 US residents.
Is Breandan a common name?
We classify Breandan as "Very Rare". It ranks above 71.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 164 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Breandan most popular?
The single biggest year for Breandan was 2006, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Breandan is about 24 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Breandan a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Breandan 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.
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.