Brynda
A feminine name of Welsh origin meaning "brave hilltop".
Name Census estimates that about 122 living Americans carry the first name Brynda. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Brynda today is around 65 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Brynda births was 1948 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Brynda. 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
122
~ 1 in 2,809,462 Americans
Peak year
1948
11 babies that year
Average age
65
years old
1996 SSA rank
#13,840
Tracked since 1943
Census
Brynda in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 248 people with the first name Brynda, which placed it at #33,395 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
#33,395
National first-name rank
People counted
248
248 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
65.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Brynda
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Brynda is White at 65.3%. The next largest groups are Black (15.3%) and Hispanic (8.9%). 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 Brynda 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 Brynda at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White65.3% · 162
- Black or African American15.3% · 38
- Hispanic or Latino8.9% · 22
- Two or more races7.7% · 19
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.0% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 2
Popularity
Brynda: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Brynda from the 1940s through to the 1990s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 71 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Brynda 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 Brynda 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 Brynda
The name Brynda is believed to have originated from the Old Norse language, which was spoken by the Germanic people of Scandinavia during the Viking Age, spanning from the 8th to the 11th centuries. It is thought to be derived from the Old Norse words "bryn," meaning "brow" or "edge," and "dá," meaning "day" or "dawn."
In ancient Norse mythology, the name may have had symbolic connotations related to the break of dawn or the beginning of a new day. However, there is limited historical evidence to confirm its precise origins or any specific references in ancient texts or religious scriptures.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Brynda can be traced back to the 12th century, when a Norwegian noblewoman named Brynda Eriksdotter was mentioned in the Icelandic Sagas. These literary works, written in the 13th century, chronicled the lives and adventures of early Scandinavian settlers and their families.
Throughout history, the name Brynda has been relatively uncommon, but a few notable individuals have borne this name. In the 14th century, Brynda Magnusdottir was a prominent figure in the Faroe Islands, known for her influential role in preserving traditional arts and crafts.
During the Renaissance period, Brynda Vitaliani (1492-1567) was an Italian painter and sculptor active in Venice. Her works, which included religious and mythological themes, were highly regarded by her contemporaries.
In the 18th century, Brynda Eriksdotter (1721-1798) was a Swedish botanist who made significant contributions to the study of Nordic flora. Her detailed illustrations and descriptions of plant species were widely acclaimed in scientific circles of the time.
Another notable bearer of the name was Brynda Williamson (1845-1922), a British suffragette and social reformer. She played an influential role in the women's rights movement and advocated for improved working conditions for women and children.
Brynda Larsson (1901-1980) was a Swedish actress and singer who gained popularity in the early 20th century for her performances in various stage productions and films. She was renowned for her captivating stage presence and vocal talents.
People
Brynda + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Brynda 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
Brynda: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Brynda?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 122 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Brynda 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 2,809,462 US residents.
Is Brynda a common name?
We classify Brynda as "Very Rare". It ranks above 67.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 171 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Brynda most popular?
The single biggest year for Brynda was 1948, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Brynda is about 65 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Brynda in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 248 people with the name Brynda, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #33,395 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 Brynda 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 Brynda?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Brynda appears almost entirely female. Of the 248 people counted with this name, 99.6% 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 Brynda?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Brynda is White at 65.3%. The next largest groups are Black (15.3%) and Hispanic (8.9%). 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 Brynda most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Brynda in the 2020 Census, accounting for 65.3% (162 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 Brynda in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Brynda a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Brynda 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 Brynda still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Brynda 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 Brynda 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 common is the name Brynda?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.