Breanne
A feminine given name of Celtic origin meaning "powerful" or "strong".
Name Census estimates that about 9,930 living Americans carry the first name Breanne. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Breanne today is around 33 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Breanne births was 1991 (517 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Breanne. 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
9.9K
~ 1 in 34,517 Americans
Peak year
1991
517 babies that year
Average age
33
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,960
Tracked since 1973
Popularity
Breanne: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Breanne from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 4,088 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
Breanne 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 Breanne during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Breannes live
The SSA's state-level files cover 42 states and territories. California, Michigan, Pennsylvania recorded the most babies named Breanne, while Alaska, Kentucky, South Carolina recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 195 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Breanne
The name Breanne is a variant of the Irish name Bríghid or Brighid, which derives from the Old Irish word "bri" meaning "exalted one" or "high, noble". It is also related to the Celtic goddess Brigid, a goddess of healing, poetry, and smithcraft. The name is believed to have originated in Ireland during the early medieval period, around the 5th to 6th centuries AD.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Breanne can be traced back to a 7th-century Irish saint, Saint Brigid of Kildare, who was born around 451 AD in Faughart, County Louth, Ireland. She is one of the patron saints of Ireland and is celebrated for her piety and her role in establishing several monasteries and churches.
In the 12th century, the name Breanne appeared in the medieval Irish text "Lebor Gabála Érenn" (The Book of the Taking of Ireland), which recounts the mythical origins of the Irish people. The name was also mentioned in various Irish annals and manuscripts from the medieval period.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Breanne or its variants. One such person was Brianna of the Hebrides, a 13th-century Scottish princess and the daughter of Aileen, Lord of Argyll. Another was Brianna Robertsone, a 16th-century Scottish woman who was accused of witchcraft during the North Berwick witch trials in 1590.
In the modern era, the name Breanne gained popularity in English-speaking countries, particularly in the United States and Canada, in the late 20th century. Some notable individuals with the name include Breanne Benson, an American actress and model born in 1981, and Breanne Nalder, a Canadian soccer player born in 1992.
Overall, the name Breanne has a rich history rooted in Irish and Celtic traditions, with connections to mythology, religion, and historical figures throughout the centuries.
People
Breanne + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Breanne 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
Breanne: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Breanne?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 9,930 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Breanne 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 34,517 US residents.
Is Breanne a common name?
We classify Breanne as "Rare". It ranks above 97.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 10,345 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Breanne most popular?
The single biggest year for Breanne was 1991, when 517 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Breanne is about 33 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Breanne a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Breanne 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.
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.