Breno
A Portuguese masculine name of Celtic origin meaning "hill" or "promontory".
Name Census estimates that about 56 living Americans carry the first name Breno. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Breno today is around 15 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Breno births was 2007 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Breno. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Breno. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
56
~ 1 in 6,120,613 Americans
Peak year
2007
7 babies that year
Average age
15
years old
2023 SSA rank
#12,510
Tracked since 2002
Popularity
Breno: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Breno 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 28 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
Breno 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 Breno 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 Breno
The name Breno has its origins in the ancient Celtic language, where it was derived from the word "brennos," meaning "prince" or "king." This name was particularly prevalent among the Gaulish tribes that inhabited parts of modern-day France, Switzerland, and northern Italy during the Iron Age and Roman period.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name Breno can be found in the writings of ancient Greek and Roman historians, who documented the Gallic invasion of Rome in 390 BCE. According to these accounts, a Gallic chieftain named Brennus (or Breno) led his troops in sacking the city, demanding a hefty ransom from the Romans.
In the centuries that followed, the name Breno continued to be used among Celtic populations across Europe. It is believed to have been particularly popular in the region of Gaul (modern-day France) during the Roman era. However, records of specific individuals bearing this name from that period are scarce.
One of the earliest known historical figures with the name Breno was a Gallic warlord who lived in the 3rd century BCE. He led a large-scale migration of Gauls into the Balkans, eventually settling in the region that is now modern-day Bulgaria and parts of Greece.
Another notable figure was Breno, a Gallic chieftain who fought against Julius Caesar during the Gallic Wars in the 1st century BCE. While little is known about his life, his defiance against the Roman legions has been documented in Caesar's own writings.
In the Middle Ages, the name Breno found its way into various European languages, including Italian and Spanish, where it took on different spellings like "Brenno" and "Breno." One famous bearer of the name was Breno da Biandrate (c. 1150-1230), an Italian nobleman and military leader who played a significant role in the conflicts between the Guelphs and Ghibellines in northern Italy.
Another notable figure was Breno de Ayala (c. 1310-1380), a Spanish knight and military commander who served under King Alfonso XI of Castile during the Reconquista against the Moors.
In more recent times, the name Breno has been particularly popular in Brazil, where it has been used by several notable individuals, including Breno Lopes (1963-present), a Brazilian football player who represented the national team in the 1990s.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Breno
People
Breno + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Breno 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
Breno: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Breno?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 56 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Breno 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 6,120,613 US residents.
Is Breno a common name?
We classify Breno as "Very Rare". It ranks above 56% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 57 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Breno most popular?
The single biggest year for Breno was 2007, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Breno is about 15 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Breno a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Breno 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.