Breckan
A masculine name derived from the Old English word "bræc" meaning fern or bracken.
Name Census estimates that about 165 living Americans carry the first name Breckan. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Breckan today is around 13 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Breckan births was 2013 (18 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Breckan. 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
165
~ 1 in 2,077,299 Americans
Peak year
2013
18 babies that year
Average age
13
years old
2023 SSA rank
#9,885
Tracked since 2002
Popularity
Breckan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Breckan from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 106 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Breckan 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 Breckan 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 Breckan
The name Breckan is believed to have originated from the Old Norse language, spoken by the ancient Germanic peoples who inhabited Scandinavia and parts of northern Europe during the Viking Age, which lasted from around the 8th to the 11th centuries. It is thought to be derived from the Old Norse word "brekka," which means "slope" or "hill."
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Breckan can be found in the Icelandic Sagas, a collection of historical narratives and legends written in the 13th and 14th centuries. These sagas often featured characters with names that reflected the rugged and natural surroundings of Iceland and the Nordic regions.
Breckan was a relatively uncommon name in the early medieval period, but it gained some prominence in Scandinavian countries, particularly in Iceland and Norway. One notable historical figure who bore the name was Breckan Sigmundsson, a Norwegian chieftain who lived in the 11th century and was known for his leadership in battles against the Danish king, Canute the Great.
In the 12th century, a Icelandic poet and lawspeaker named Breckan Halldórsson gained recognition for his contributions to the preservation of Old Norse literature and the development of the Icelandic legal system. His works, including poems and legal texts, have been widely studied and translated.
During the 13th century, a Norwegian explorer and adventurer named Breckan Thorvaldsson is said to have undertaken a voyage to the northern reaches of the Atlantic Ocean, possibly reaching the coasts of Greenland and even North America. His travels were documented in the Icelandic Annals, which chronicle the voyages and discoveries of Norse explorers.
Another notable figure with the name Breckan was a 14th-century Swedish knight and military commander named Breckan Svensson, who fought in the Swedish-Danish wars and played a crucial role in defending the Swedish kingdom against Danish invasion attempts.
While the name Breckan has its roots in Old Norse and was primarily used in Scandinavian countries during the medieval period, it has also been found in other parts of Europe, particularly in areas with strong Viking influences or settlements. However, its usage has remained relatively rare compared to other Nordic names.
People
Breckan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Breckan 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
Breckan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Breckan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 165 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Breckan 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 2,077,299 US residents.
Is Breckan a common name?
We classify Breckan as "Very Rare". It ranks above 71.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 166 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Breckan most popular?
The single biggest year for Breckan was 2013, when 18 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Breckan is about 13 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Breckan a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Breckan 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.