Brenin
A Welsh masculine given name meaning "king" or "leader".
Name Census estimates that about 198 living Americans carry the first name Brenin. It is a predominantly male name (97.5% of registrations). The average person named Brenin today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Brenin births was 2011 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Brenin. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Brenin with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
198
~ 1 in 1,731,083 Americans
Peak year
2011
14 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2020 SSA rank
#9,711
Tracked since 1985
Census
Brenin in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 244 people with the first name Brenin, which placed it at #33,765 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
#33,765
National first-name rank
People counted
244
244 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
74.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Brenin
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Brenin is White at 74.6%. The next largest groups are Black (9.0%) and Hispanic (7.4%). 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 Brenin 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 Brenin at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White74.6% · 182
- Black or African American9.0% · 22
- Hispanic or Latino7.4% · 18
- Two or more races6.6% · 16
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.6% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 2
Gender
Gender distribution for Brenin
Brenin leans heavily male at 97.5% of total registrations, but 5 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Brenin as a male name
- Ranked #9,711 in 2020
- 7 male births in 2020
- Peak: 2011 (14 births)
Brenin as a female name
- Ranked #15,819 in 2002
- 5 female births in 2002
- Peak: 2002 (5 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Brenin leans strongly male. 215 people counted with this name were male (88.1%), compared with 29 female bearers (11.9%).
Popularity
Brenin: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Brenin from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 84 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
Brenin 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 Brenin 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 Brenin
The given name Brenin originates from the Welsh language and has its roots in the Brittonic Celtic culture of ancient Britain. The name is derived from the Welsh word "brenhin," which means "king" or "monarch."
In the early medieval period, the title "Brenhin" was used to refer to the rulers of the various Welsh kingdoms and principalities that existed throughout the region. The name Brenin was likely given to male children as a symbol of strength, power, and leadership within the Celtic-Welsh tradition.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Brenin can be found in the Welsh Triads, a collection of traditional stories and legends that date back to the Middle Ages. The Triads mention various Welsh princes and rulers who bore the name Brenin or its variations.
Throughout history, several notable figures have carried the name Brenin. One of the most famous was Brenin ap Gruffydd (c. 1062 - c. 1137), a Welsh prince who led a rebellion against the Norman conquerors in the late 11th and early 12th centuries. He was known for his fierce resistance against the Norman occupation of Wales.
Another historical figure with the name Brenin was Brenin Gwynn (fl. 6th century), a legendary Welsh king who is mentioned in several medieval Welsh texts, including the Mabinogion. He is often associated with the mythical island of Avalon and is said to have been a powerful ruler and protector of the Welsh people.
In the 13th century, Brenin ab Owain (c. 1235 - c. 1290) was a Welsh prince and landowner who played a significant role in the Welsh resistance against English rule during the later years of the Principality of Wales.
The name Brenin also appears in the historical records of the 14th century, with Brenin ab Iorwerth (c. 1310 - c. 1380), a Welsh nobleman and military leader who fought alongside Owain Glyndŵr in the Welsh Revolt against the English in the early 15th century.
Another notable figure who bore the name Brenin was Brenin ab Rhys (c. 1480 - c. 1550), a Welsh landowner and politician who served as a member of the Parliament of England during the reign of Henry VIII in the 16th century.
While the name Brenin has its roots in the ancient Welsh tradition, it has since become a rare and distinctive given name across various cultures and regions. Its connection to the concept of kingship and leadership has made it a name that carries a sense of strength and authority throughout history.
People
Brenin + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Brenin 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
Brenin: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Brenin?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 198 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Brenin 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 1,731,083 US residents.
Is Brenin a common name?
We classify Brenin as "Very Rare". It ranks above 74.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 200 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Brenin most popular?
The single biggest year for Brenin was 2011, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Brenin is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Brenin in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 244 people with the name Brenin, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #33,765 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 Brenin 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 Brenin?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Brenin leans strongly male. 215 people counted with this name were male (88.1%), compared with 29 female bearers (11.9%). 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 Brenin?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Brenin is White at 74.6%. The next largest groups are Black (9.0%) and Hispanic (7.4%). 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 Brenin most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Brenin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 74.6% (182 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 Brenin in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Brenin a male name?
Yes, 97.5% of people registered as Brenin 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 Brenin still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Brenin 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 Brenin 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 many people are named Brenin?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.