Brigida
A feminine name of Irish origin meaning "exalted one" or "power".
Name Census estimates that about 401 living Americans carry the first name Brigida. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Brigida today is around 50 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Brigida births was 1975 (19 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Brigida. 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
401
~ 1 in 854,749 Americans
Peak year
1975
19 babies that year
Average age
50
years old
2009 SSA rank
#17,772
Tracked since 1911
Census
Brigida in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,808 people with the first name Brigida, which placed it at #5,901 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
#5,901
National first-name rank
People counted
2.8K
2,808 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.9
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
75.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Brigida
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Brigida is Hispanic at 75.9%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (12.2%) and White (9.8%). 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 Brigida 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 Brigida at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino75.9% · 2,132
- Asian and Pacific Islander12.2% · 342
- White9.8% · 275
- Black or African American1.4% · 39
- Two or more races0.5% · 14
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 6
Popularity
Brigida: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Brigida from the 1910s through to the 2000s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 118 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1970s peak, Brigida remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Brigida 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 Brigida during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Brigidas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. Texas, California, New York recorded the most babies named Brigida, while New York, California, Texas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 27 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Brigida
The name Brigida has its origins in the Celtic language and culture, with roots dating back to ancient times. It is believed to have derived from the Old Celtic word "briganti," meaning "the high one" or "the exalted one." This name was particularly popular among the ancient Britons and the Gaels of Ireland and Scotland.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Brigida can be found in the ancient Irish texts and legends, where it was associated with the Celtic goddess Brighid, also known as Brigit or Bride. She was revered as the goddess of poetry, healing, and smithcraft, and her festival, Imbolc, marked the beginning of spring.
In the 5th century, St. Brigid of Kildare, one of the three patron saints of Ireland, was born and took her name from the pagan goddess. She is celebrated for her piety, miracles, and founding of several monasteries, including the renowned Kildare Abbey. Her feast day, February 1st, was known as Lá Fhéile Bríde (St. Brigid's Day) and was a significant celebration in Ireland.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Brigida. One of the earliest recorded examples is Brigida, the wife of the Roman emperor Gratian, who lived in the 4th century AD. Another well-known figure was Brigida of Sweden (c. 1303-1373), a Swedish princess and later a nun who founded the Brigittine Order.
In the 16th century, Brigida Antici (1491-1549) was an Italian writer and poet who was renowned for her literary works and her contributions to the Renaissance era. Brigida Banti (1757-1806), an Italian operatic soprano, was celebrated for her powerful voice and her performances in the works of composers like Mozart and Cimarosa.
Brigida Guerrero (1564-1634) was a Spanish-born woman who is revered as a folk saint in Mexico, particularly in the state of Jalisco, where she dedicated her life to helping the poor and sick. Her legacy continues to be celebrated through religious festivals and pilgrimages.
The name Brigida has also been used in various literary works and artistic representations throughout history, further solidifying its cultural significance and historical importance.
People
Brigida + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Brigida 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
Brigida: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Brigida?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 401 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Brigida 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 854,749 US residents.
Is Brigida a common name?
We classify Brigida as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 660 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Brigida most popular?
The single biggest year for Brigida was 1975, when 19 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Brigida is about 50 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Brigida in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,808 people with the name Brigida, or 0.93 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #5,901 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 Brigida 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 Brigida?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Brigida appears almost entirely female. Of the 2,804 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 Brigida?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Brigida is Hispanic at 75.9%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (12.2%) and White (9.8%). 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 Brigida most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Brigida in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.9% (2,132 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 Brigida in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Brigida a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Brigida 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 Brigida still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Brigida 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 Brigida 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 many people are named Brigida?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.