Brighid
A feminine name of Celtic origin meaning "exalted one" or "high born".
Name Census estimates that about 509 living Americans carry the first name Brighid. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Brighid today is around 27 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Brighid births was 2004 (25 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Brighid. 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
509
~ 1 in 673,388 Americans
Peak year
2004
25 babies that year
Average age
27
years old
2024 SSA rank
#13,723
Tracked since 1975
Popularity
Brighid: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Brighid from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 156 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
Brighid 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 Brighid during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Brighids live
Origin
Meaning and history of Brighid
The name Brighid is of Celtic origin, derived from the Gaelic words "brigh" meaning "exalted one" and "brig" meaning "might" or "power". It is believed to have originated in Ireland and parts of Scotland during the ancient Celtic era, likely predating the 5th century AD.
Brighid was the name of a revered Celtic goddess associated with poetry, healing, protection, and smithcraft. She was one of the most prominent deities in the ancient Irish mythology and was celebrated during the pagan festival of Imbolc, marking the beginning of spring. The name was widely used among the ancient Celts as a symbol of strength and fertility.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Brighid can be found in the medieval Irish text "Lebor Gabála Érenn" (The Book of the Taking of Ireland), which dates back to the 11th century. This text contains stories and genealogies related to the ancient Irish mythology and legends.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Brighid or its variations. One of the most famous was Saint Brigid of Kildare (c. 451-525), a Christian nun and the patron saint of Ireland. She is revered for founding several monasteries and convents, and her feast day is celebrated on February 1st.
Another historical figure with the name Brighid was Brighid Ní Mháille (c. 1530-1603), also known as Grace O'Malley, an Irish pirate queen who commanded a fleet of ships and played a significant role in the political affairs of her time.
In literature, Brighid is the central character in the play "Brighid of Elmsthorpe" by the Irish playwright John Millington Synge (1871-1909), which explores themes of Irish folklore and mythology.
Other notable individuals with the name Brighid include Brighid Haughey (1923-2015), an Irish politician and wife of the former Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, Brian Faulkner, and Brighid Mooney (1939-2019), an Irish actress known for her roles in films and television series.
People
Brighid + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Brighid 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
Brighid: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Brighid?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 509 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Brighid 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 673,388 US residents.
Is Brighid a common name?
We classify Brighid as "Very Rare". It ranks above 84.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 524 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Brighid most popular?
The single biggest year for Brighid was 2004, when 25 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Brighid is about 27 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Brighid a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Brighid 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.