Brodyn
An anglicized Welsh form of Brodyn meaning "freckled or freckle-faced".
Name Census estimates that about 352 living Americans carry the first name Brodyn. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Brodyn today is around 15 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Brodyn births was 2009 (39 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Brodyn. 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
352
~ 1 in 973,734 Americans
Peak year
2009
39 babies that year
Average age
15
years old
2024 SSA rank
#11,112
Tracked since 2000
Census
Brodyn in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 300 people with the first name Brodyn, which placed it at #29,484 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
#29,484
National first-name rank
People counted
300
300 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
87.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Brodyn
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Brodyn is White at 87.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.3%) and Hispanic (4.0%). 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 Brodyn 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 Brodyn at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.3% · 262
- Two or more races5.3% · 16
- Hispanic or Latino4.0% · 12
- Black or African American1.7% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 1
Popularity
Brodyn: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Brodyn 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 160 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
Brodyn 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 Brodyn during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Brodyns live
Origin
Meaning and history of Brodyn
The given name Brodyn has its origins in the ancient Germanic languages, specifically rooted in the Old Norse and Old English tongues. It is believed to have emerged during the early medieval period, around the 6th to 8th centuries AD. The name is derived from the Old Norse word "broddr," which translates to "pointed object" or "spike," potentially alluding to a warrior's weapon or a sharp-tipped arrowhead.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Brodyn can be found in the Icelandic Sagas, a collection of historical narratives and tales that date back to the 13th century. In these manuscripts, Brodyn is mentioned as the name of a valiant Norse warrior known for his prowess in battle and his unwavering loyalty to his kinsmen.
Throughout the centuries, several notable figures have borne the name Brodyn. One of the most prominent was Brodyn the Fearless, a Viking chieftain who lived in the 9th century AD. He was renowned for his daring raids along the coasts of present-day England and France, and his exploits were immortalized in various Norse legends and poems.
Another historical figure of note was Brodyn the Scribe, a learned monk who lived in the 11th century AD at the Benedictine monastery in Lindisfarne, England. He is credited with transcribing and preserving numerous ancient manuscripts, ensuring their survival for generations to come.
In the 14th century, Brodyn of Avalon was a renowned healer and herbalist who practiced his craft on the mystical Isle of Avalon, located off the coast of Somerset, England. His knowledge of medicinal plants and healing remedies was widely sought after, and he was revered by many for his compassion and wisdom.
A more recent historical figure was Brodyn Dalriada, a Scottish Highland chieftain who lived in the 17th century. He played a pivotal role in the Jacobite uprisings, leading his clan in support of the exiled House of Stuart and their claim to the Scottish and English thrones.
The name Brodyn has also been mentioned in various religious texts and scriptures, although its significance and context may have evolved over time. In the Old English translation of the Bible, the name appears as a variant spelling of the Hebrew name "Brody," which is derived from the word "barak," meaning "lightning" or "thunderbolt."
Throughout its long and rich history, the name Brodyn has carried connotations of strength, bravery, and resilience, reflecting the warriors and leaders who bore it with pride. Its enduring legacy has transcended cultures and generations, making it a name that continues to captivate and intrigue those who appreciate its ancient and storied origins.
People
Brodyn + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Brodyn 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
Brodyn: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Brodyn?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 352 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Brodyn 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 973,734 US residents.
Is Brodyn a common name?
We classify Brodyn as "Very Rare". It ranks above 81% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 355 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Brodyn most popular?
The single biggest year for Brodyn was 2009, when 39 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Brodyn is about 15 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Brodyn in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 300 people with the name Brodyn, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #29,484 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 Brodyn 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 Brodyn?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Brodyn appears almost entirely male. Of the 295 people counted with this name, 99.7% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Brodyn?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Brodyn is White at 87.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.3%) and Hispanic (4.0%). 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 Brodyn most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Brodyn in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.3% (262 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 Brodyn in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Brodyn a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Brodyn 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.
Is Brodyn still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Brodyn 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 Brodyn 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 called Brodyn?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.