Brek
A word derived from the Old Gaelic word 'brecc' meaning freckled or speckled.
Name Census estimates that about 382 living Americans carry the first name Brek. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Brek today is around 25 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Brek births was 2013 (21 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Brek. 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
382
~ 1 in 897,263 Americans
Peak year
2013
21 babies that year
Average age
25
years old
2024 SSA rank
#12,570
Tracked since 1959
Census
Brek in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 407 people with the first name Brek, which placed it at #23,894 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
#23,894
National first-name rank
People counted
407
407 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
90.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Brek
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Brek is White at 90.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.9%) and Hispanic (3.7%). 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 Brek 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 Brek at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.4% · 368
- Two or more races3.9% · 16
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 15
- Black or African American1.0% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 4
Popularity
Brek: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Brek from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 141 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
Brek 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 Brek during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Breks live
Origin
Meaning and history of Brek
The given name Brek has its origins in the ancient Germanic languages, with roots tracing back to the 5th century CE. It is believed to be a variation of the Old Norse name Brekki, which means "slope" or "hillside." This name was commonly used among the Scandinavian Vikings who inhabited the coastal regions of modern-day Norway, Sweden, and Denmark.
In the early medieval period, the name Brek gained popularity across various Germanic tribes, including the Franks, Saxons, and Angles. It was often associated with individuals who lived in hilly or mountainous areas, reflecting the name's connection to the natural landscape.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Brek can be found in the Icelandic Sagas, which were written in the 13th and 14th centuries. These sagas are a collection of stories and historical accounts that provide valuable insights into the lives and customs of the Norse people.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Brek. One of the most famous was Brek Ingvaldsson (c. 950-1015), a Norwegian chieftain and explorer known for his voyages to Greenland and Vinland (present-day Newfoundland, Canada). His exploits were documented in the Greenland Saga and the Saga of Erik the Red.
Another prominent figure with the name Brek was Brek the Wise (c. 1050-1120), a renowned scholar and philosopher from Denmark. He was highly respected for his knowledge and teachings, and his writings on ethics and morality were widely studied during the Middle Ages.
In the 12th century, Brek Skaldason (c. 1140-1210) was a revered Icelandic skald (poet) and lawspeaker. His poetic works, which often celebrated the exploits of Norse kings and warriors, have been preserved in various manuscripts and continue to be studied by scholars of Old Norse literature.
During the 13th century, Brek the Bold (c. 1220-1290) was a legendary Norwegian warrior and leader. He is said to have led a group of Vikings on daring raids and conquests across the Baltic Sea region, earning him a reputation as a fearless and formidable commander.
In the 15th century, Brek Olafsson (c. 1440-1510) was a respected Icelandic chieftain and lawspeaker. He played a crucial role in preserving and documenting the island's ancient laws and customs, ensuring their transmission to future generations.
People
Brek + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Brek 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
Brek: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Brek?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 382 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Brek 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 897,263 US residents.
Is Brek a common name?
We classify Brek as "Very Rare". It ranks above 81.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 395 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Brek most popular?
The single biggest year for Brek was 2013, when 21 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Brek is about 25 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Brek in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 407 people with the name Brek, or 0.13 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #23,894 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 Brek 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 Brek?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Brek leans strongly male. 386 people counted with this name were male (95.8%), compared with 17 female bearers (4.2%). 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 Brek?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Brek is White at 90.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.9%) and Hispanic (3.7%). 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 Brek most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Brek in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.4% (368 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 Brek in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Brek a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Brek 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 Brek still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Brek 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 Brek 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 common is the name Brek?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.