Brevin
A masculine name of American origin, a variant spelling of the given name Brendan.
Name Census estimates that about 1,092 living Americans carry the first name Brevin. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Brevin today is around 21 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Brevin births was 1998 (115 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Brevin. 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
1.1K
~ 1 in 313,878 Americans
Peak year
1998
115 babies that year
Average age
21
years old
2024 SSA rank
#11,104
Tracked since 1994
Popularity
Brevin: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Brevin from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 525 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Brevin 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 Brevin during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Brevins live
The SSA's state-level files cover 13 states and territories. Ohio, Utah, California recorded the most babies named Brevin, while Wisconsin, Texas, Illinois recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 14 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Brevin
The name Brevin is believed to have originated from the Old English words "bræf" and "wine," which together mean "brave friend." It was most commonly used in Anglo-Saxon England during the 7th to 11th centuries.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Brevin can be found in the Domesday Book, a great survey of land and property commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The name appears as "Bræfwine," referring to a landowner in the county of Somerset.
In the 12th century, a monk named Brevin of Auxerre was known for his scholarly works on theology and philosophy. He lived from approximately 1120 to 1190 and was a member of the Augustinian order in France.
During the reign of King Edward I of England (1272-1307), a knight named Sir Brevin de Montfort fought in the Welsh Wars and was granted lands in the Welsh Marches for his service.
In the 14th century, a Franciscan friar named Brevin of Béziers was known for his writings on medieval mysticism and spiritual contemplation. He lived from around 1320 to 1390 and traveled widely throughout France and Italy.
Another notable figure with the name Brevin was a 16th-century English explorer named Brevin Cavendish. He is recorded as having led expeditions to the Americas and the West Indies between 1550 and 1570, though little is known about his specific voyages or discoveries.
While the name Brevin has become quite rare in modern times, it has a rich history stretching back to the Anglo-Saxon period and has been borne by various scholars, knights, and explorers throughout the centuries.
People
Brevin + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Brevin 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
Brevin: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Brevin?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,092 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Brevin 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 313,878 US residents.
Is Brevin a common name?
We classify Brevin as "Rare". It ranks above 90.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,107 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Brevin most popular?
The single biggest year for Brevin was 1998, when 115 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Brevin is about 21 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Brevin a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Brevin 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.