Brydan
An English given name meaning "from the brythonic region".
Name Census estimates that about 163 living Americans carry the first name Brydan. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Brydan today is around 15 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Brydan births was 2011 (30 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Brydan. 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
163
~ 1 in 2,102,787 Americans
Peak year
2011
30 babies that year
Average age
15
years old
2021 SSA rank
#9,872
Tracked since 2003
Popularity
Brydan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Brydan 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 105 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
Brydan 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 Brydan during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Brydan
The name Brydan is believed to have its origins in the ancient Germanic and Anglo-Saxon cultures. It is thought to be derived from the Old English words "bry" meaning "bridge" and "dan" meaning "valley" or "den." This suggests that the name may have originally referred to someone who lived near a bridge in a valley or den.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Brydan can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of landowners and estates in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The name appears in various spellings, including "Bridan" and "Brydan," indicating its use during the Norman period.
In the 12th century, a monk named Brydan is mentioned in the chronicles of the Benedictine monastery at Bury St. Edmunds in Suffolk, England. He is noted for his skills in calligraphy and manuscript illumination, contributing to the preservation of historical documents and religious texts.
During the Middle Ages, the name Brydan was associated with several notable figures. Brydan de Leyburn (c. 1220-1292) was an English nobleman and landowner who served as Sheriff of Yorkshire under King Henry III. Another Brydan de Leyburn (c. 1275-1344) was a clergyman who held the position of Bishop of Carlisle from 1322 to 1344.
In the 16th century, Brydan Croft (c. 1510-1578) was a prominent English lawyer and legal writer. He is best known for his work "The Book of Entries," which became a standard reference for legal practitioners in England.
Fast-forwarding to the 19th century, Brydan Llewelyn (1834-1905) was a Welsh poet and writer who contributed significantly to the preservation of Welsh literature and culture. He is remembered for his collection of poems titled "Caneuon Cenedlaethol" (National Songs), which celebrated Welsh nationalism and identity.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who bore the name Brydan. While its usage may have waxed and waned over the centuries, the name has maintained a presence, particularly in regions with Germanic and Anglo-Saxon cultural influences.
People
Brydan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Brydan 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
Brydan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Brydan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 163 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Brydan 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 2,102,787 US residents.
Is Brydan a common name?
We classify Brydan as "Very Rare". It ranks above 71.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 164 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Brydan most popular?
The single biggest year for Brydan was 2011, when 30 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Brydan is about 15 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Brydan a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Brydan 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.