Brenna
A feminine given name of Irish origin meaning "brow" or "freckled".
Name Census estimates that about 28,222 living Americans carry the first name Brenna. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Brenna today is around 28 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Brenna births was 1995 (1,212 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Brenna. 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 Brenna with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
28K
~ 1 in 12,145 Americans
Peak year
1995
1,212 babies that year
Average age
28
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,065
Tracked since 1946
Census
Brenna in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 27,841 people with the first name Brenna, which placed it at #1,311 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
#1,311
National first-name rank
People counted
28K
27,841 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
9.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
86.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Brenna
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Brenna is White at 86.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.5%) and Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Brenna 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 Brenna at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.1% · 23,970
- Hispanic or Latino5.5% · 1,540
- Two or more races4.5% · 1,246
- Black or African American2.2% · 614
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 290
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 181
Popularity
Brenna: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Brenna from the 1940s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 9,202 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
Brenna 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 Brenna during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Brennas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 50 states and territories. California, Texas, Pennsylvania recorded the most babies named Brenna, while Vermont, Delaware, Wyoming recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 524 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Brenna
The given name Brenna has its origins in the Celtic languages of ancient Britain and Ireland. It is derived from the Old Celtic word "brenhin," meaning "king" or "prince." This name was particularly popular among the ancient Britons and was often bestowed upon those of noble or royal lineage.
During the Middle Ages, the name Brenna was commonly found in various regions of Scotland, Wales, and Ireland. It was sometimes spelled as "Brenna," "Brynna," or "Brenna," reflecting the regional variations in pronunciation and spelling conventions of the time.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Brenna can be found in the ancient Welsh text known as the "Mabinogion," a collection of medieval Welsh prose stories and myths. In this text, Brenna is mentioned as the name of a character, though little is known about the individual's historical significance.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Brenna. One of the most famous was Brenna of Galloway (c. 1020-1090), a Scottish princess and the daughter of Gille Brigte, Earl of Galloway. She is remembered for her role in the political struggles of her time and her efforts to protect her family's lands and interests.
Another notable Brenna was Brenna of Leinster (c. 1150-1225), an Irish noblewoman and the daughter of Dermot MacMurrough, King of Leinster. She played a significant role in the Norman invasion of Ireland and was known for her strategic alliances and political acumen.
In the 13th century, Brenna de Montfort (c. 1205-1252) was a French noblewoman and the wife of Simon de Montfort, a prominent leader in the Barons' War against King Henry III of England. She was renowned for her courage and resilience during the struggles of that period.
Another notable figure was Brenna of Strathclyde (c. 1280-1350), a Scottish princess and the daughter of the Lord of Strathclyde. She is recorded in historical documents as having played a crucial role in the negotiations between Scotland and England during the Wars of Scottish Independence.
In the 16th century, Brenna O'Brien (c. 1545-1610) was an Irish chieftain and the daughter of Conor O'Brien, Earl of Thomond. She was known for her leadership skills and her efforts to protect her clan's lands and traditions during a tumultuous period in Irish history.
These are just a few examples of the many notable individuals throughout history who have borne the name Brenna, a name with deep roots in the Celtic cultures of ancient Britain and Ireland.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Brenna
People
Brenna + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Brenna 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
Brenna: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Brenna?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 28,222 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Brenna 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 12,145 US residents.
Is Brenna a common name?
We classify Brenna as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 29,263 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Brenna most popular?
The single biggest year for Brenna was 1995, when 1,212 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Brenna is about 28 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Brenna in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 27,841 people with the name Brenna, or 9.22 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #1,311 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 Brenna 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 Brenna?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Brenna appears almost entirely female. Of the 27,835 people counted with this name, 99.8% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Brenna?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Brenna is White at 86.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.5%) and Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Brenna most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Brenna in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.1% (23,970 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 Brenna in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Brenna a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Brenna 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 Brenna still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Brenna 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 Brenna 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 Brenna?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.