Breannon
An anglicized spelling of the Irish name Breanainn meaning "rain giver".
Name Census estimates that about 41 living Americans carry the first name Breannon. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Breannon today is around 31 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Breannon births was 1998 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Breannon. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Breannon. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
41
~ 1 in 8,359,862 Americans
Peak year
1998
8 babies that year
Average age
31
years old
2003 SSA rank
#12,623
Tracked since 1983
Popularity
Breannon: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Breannon from the 1980s through to the 2000s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 24 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1990s peak, Breannon remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Breannon 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 Breannon 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 Breannon
The given name Breannon is derived from the Irish Gaelic language and has its origins in the early medieval period, around the 5th to 8th centuries AD. It is believed to be a variant of the name Brendan, which is derived from the Celtic words "bren" meaning "prince" or "king" and "finn" meaning "fair" or "white." The name Breannon is thought to have been used predominantly in Ireland and parts of Scotland during this time period.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Breannon can be found in the Annals of Ulster, a chronicle of medieval Irish history compiled by monks in the late 15th century. The text mentions a Breannon mac Conchobair, who was a member of the Uí Briúin dynasty and served as the King of Connacht, a western province of Ireland, in the late 7th century.
In the 9th century, a Breannon Ua Conchobair is recorded as the Bishop of Armagh, one of the most important ecclesiastical positions in medieval Ireland. This suggests that the name Breannon was not only used by members of the nobility but also within the ranks of the clergy during this period.
Throughout the Middle Ages, several notable figures bore the name Breannon, including Breannon mac Áeda, a 10th-century King of Uí Fiachrach Aidne in County Galway, Ireland, and Breannon Ua Maoil Muaidh, a 12th-century poet and historian from County Sligo, Ireland.
In the 16th century, Breannon O'Reilly, a chieftain of the O'Reilly clan in County Cavan, Ireland, is recorded as having played a significant role in the Nine Years' War against English rule in Ireland from 1593 to 1603.
Another notable figure with the name Breannon is Breannon Mór Ó Conchobhair, who lived in the 17th century and was a renowned Irish harpist and composer from County Sligo, Ireland.
While the name Breannon has its roots in medieval Ireland and was particularly prevalent among the Irish nobility and clergy during this period, it has remained in use throughout the centuries, albeit with varying levels of popularity.
People
Breannon + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Breannon 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
Breannon: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Breannon?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 41 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Breannon 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 Breannon a common name?
We classify Breannon 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 Breannon most popular?
The single biggest year for Breannon was 1998, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Breannon is about 31 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 Breannon in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Breannon a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Breannon 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 Breannon still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Breannon 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 Breannon 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 common is the name Breannon?
For a quick modern take, check how many people share the name Breannon on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.