Brennyn
A feminine Welsh variant of the name Brendan, meaning "prince" or "raven-like".
Name Census estimates that about 275 living Americans carry the first name Brennyn. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 51.8% of registrations being female. The average person named Brennyn today is around 17 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Brennyn births was 2009 (32 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Brennyn. 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
275
~ 1 in 1,246,379 Americans
Peak year
2009
32 babies that year
Average age
17
years old
2018 SSA rank
#8,939
Tracked since 1992
Gender
Gender distribution for Brennyn
Brennyn is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 278 total registrations, 134 (48.2%) were male and 144 (51.8%) were female.
Brennyn as a male name
- Ranked #8,939 in 2018
- 8 male births in 2018
- Peak: 2009 (15 births)
Brennyn as a female name
- Ranked #15,942 in 2019
- 5 female births in 2019
- Peak: 2009 (17 births)
Popularity
Brennyn: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Brennyn from the 1990s through to the 2010s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 143 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Brennyn 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 Brennyn during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Brennyns live
Origin
Meaning and history of Brennyn
The given name Brennyn is believed to have originated from the Celtic language, specifically Brythonic Celtic, which was spoken by the ancient Britons. The name is thought to be derived from the elements "bren" or "bran," meaning "raven" or "crow," and the diminutive suffix "-yn," indicating smallness or endearment.
This name has its roots in the ancient Welsh and Cornish cultures, where ravens were revered as sacred birds associated with wisdom, prophecy, and the otherworld. The earliest recorded instance of the name Brennyn can be traced back to medieval Welsh literature, particularly in the form "Brenhin," which meant "king" or "leader."
One of the earliest known figures with a similar name was Bran the Blessed, a legendary Welsh king and giant who features prominently in the Mabinogion, a collection of medieval Welsh tales. According to mythology, Bran's head was buried on the White Mount in London, now known as Tower Hill, to protect the island from invasion.
In the 6th century, Saint Branwalator, also known as Brendan the Navigator, was a legendary Irish monk and traveler who is said to have undertaken a voyage across the Atlantic Ocean, possibly reaching the shores of North America. His name, derived from the Welsh "Brenhin," means "prince" or "leader."
Another notable figure was Brân ap Llŷr, a heroic character from the Welsh myth cycle known as the Second Branch of the Mabinogi. He was the son of Llŷr, the king of Britain, and played a significant role in the stories of the ancient Britons.
During the Middle Ages, the name Brennyn appeared in various spellings, such as Brenny, Brenny, and Brennyn, among the Welsh and Cornish people. One notable bearer of this name was Brenny Whetynhale, a 14th-century English priest and canon from Cornwall.
While the name Brennyn has maintained a presence in Welsh and Cornish communities throughout history, its usage has been relatively uncommon compared to other Celtic names. However, it remains a unique and evocative name with deep roots in the ancient traditions and folklore of the British Isles.
People
Brennyn + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Brennyn 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
Brennyn: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Brennyn?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 275 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Brennyn 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 1,246,379 US residents.
Is Brennyn a common name?
We classify Brennyn as "Very Rare". It ranks above 78.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 278 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Brennyn most popular?
The single biggest year for Brennyn was 2009, when 32 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Brennyn is about 17 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Brennyn a female name?
Yes, 51.8% of people registered as Brennyn 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.
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.