Britten
Possibly derived from the Old English term for the Britons or Britons.
Name Census estimates that about 855 living Americans carry the first name Britten. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 59.9% of registrations being male. The average person named Britten today is around 29 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Britten births was 2001 (32 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Britten. 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
855
~ 1 in 400,882 Americans
Peak year
2001
32 babies that year
Average age
29
years old
2021 SSA rank
#7,683
Tracked since 1971
Gender
Gender distribution for Britten
Britten is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 883 total registrations, 529 (59.9%) were male and 354 (40.1%) were female.
Britten as a male name
- Ranked #7,683 in 2021
- 10 male births in 2021
- Peak: 2001 (25 births)
Britten as a female name
- Ranked #15,532 in 2020
- 5 female births in 2020
- Peak: 1982 (14 births)
Popularity
Britten: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Britten 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 214 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
Britten 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 Britten during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Brittens live
Origin
Meaning and history of Britten
The name Britten is believed to have originated from the ancient Germanic language, with roots tracing back to the 5th century AD. It is derived from the Old English word "bryten," meaning "a Briton" or someone from Britain. This name was likely given to individuals who had ties to the British Isles or were of British descent.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Britten can be found in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, a historical record compiled in the late 9th century. The Chronicle mentions a figure named Britten, who was a prominent leader during the reign of King Alfred the Great (849-899).
In the Middle Ages, the name Britten gained popularity among the noble classes in England. One notable figure was Sir Britten de Vere (1230-1292), a skilled knight and military commander who fought in the Crusades and served under King Edward I.
During the Renaissance period, the name Britten was associated with several notable scholars and artists. Britten Holbein (1497-1543) was a renowned German painter and printmaker who worked for the royal courts of England and is best known for his portraits of Henry VIII and his wives.
In the 17th century, Britten Vaughan (1622-1695) was an English philosopher and writer who made significant contributions to the field of natural philosophy. His works explored topics such as physics, chemistry, and metaphysics.
The 20th century saw the rise of Britten Pears (1913-1992), a renowned British composer and conductor. He is best known for his operas, including "Peter Grimes" and "The Turn of the Screw," and is considered one of the most influential figures in 20th-century British classical music.
While the name Britten has its roots in ancient Germanic languages, it has endured throughout the centuries and has been borne by individuals from various backgrounds and fields, including nobility, arts, and academia.
People
Britten + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Britten 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
Britten: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Britten?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 855 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Britten 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 400,882 US residents.
Is Britten a common name?
We classify Britten as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 883 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Britten most popular?
The single biggest year for Britten was 2001, when 32 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Britten is about 29 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Britten a male name?
Yes, 59.9% of people registered as Britten 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.