Brynn
A feminine name of Welsh origin meaning "great hill" or "high."
Name Census estimates that about 28,938 living Americans carry the first name Brynn. It sits at #384 in the overall ranking, outside the top 50 but still well-represented. It is a predominantly female name (98.7% of registrations). The average person named Brynn today is around 17 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Brynn births was 2011 (1,671 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Brynn. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Brynn with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Brynn is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 388 boys registered with the name since 1880.
- • Brynn is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 17 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
29K
~ 1 in 11,844 Americans
Peak year
2011
1,671 babies that year
Average age
17
years old
2024 SSA rank
#384
Tracked since 1943
Census
Brynn in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 24,679 people with the first name Brynn, which placed it at #1,406 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
#1,406
National first-name rank
People counted
25K
24,679 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
8.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
88.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Brynn
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Brynn is White at 88.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.5%) 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 Brynn 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 Brynn at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.5% · 21,840
- Two or more races4.5% · 1,115
- Hispanic or Latino4.0% · 990
- Black or African American1.8% · 455
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 196
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 83
Gender
Gender distribution for Brynn
Brynn leans heavily female at 98.7% of total registrations, but 388 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Brynn as a male name
- Ranked #8,394 in 2024
- 9 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2003 (17 births)
Brynn as a female name
- Ranked #384 in 2024
- 817 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2011 (1,665 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Brynn leans strongly female. 24,352 people counted with this name were female (98.7%), compared with 323 male bearers (1.3%).
Popularity
Brynn: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Brynn from the 1940s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 12,985 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Brynn remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Brynn 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 Brynn during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Brynns live
The SSA's state-level files cover 50 states and territories. California, Pennsylvania, Ohio recorded the most babies named Brynn, while Vermont, Mississippi, Alaska recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 537 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Brynn
The name Brynn has its origins in the Celtic languages, specifically Welsh and Breton. It is a variant of the name Bryn, which means "hill" or "mound" in Welsh. The name is believed to have emerged during the Middle Ages, around the 5th to 10th centuries, when the Welsh and Breton cultures flourished in the British Isles and parts of modern-day France.
Brynn was a name used primarily in Wales and Brittany, where it was associated with the rugged landscapes and rolling hills that characterized these regions. The name may have been given to children born in or near prominent hills or mounds, or it may have been used to honor the natural beauty of the land.
While the name does not appear to have been recorded in any major ancient texts or religious scriptures, it has a long history of use among the Welsh and Breton peoples. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Brynn is found in the Welsh genealogical records of the 13th century, where it was listed as a male name.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Brynn. One such person was Brynn ap Gwilym (born around 1310), a Welsh poet and scholar who is considered one of the leading figures of medieval Welsh literature. Another notable Brynn was Brynn Ffrwyth (born in the late 14th century), a Welsh warrior and landowner who played a role in the conflicts between the Welsh and English during the late Middle Ages.
In the 16th century, a Breton woman named Brynn Le Goff (born around 1520) gained recognition for her skill as a seamstress and embroiderer, with her works being commissioned by nobility and the Church. Later, in the 18th century, Brynn Llewelyn (born in 1734) was a Welsh poet and teacher who contributed to the preservation of Welsh language and culture.
One of the more recent notable individuals named Brynn was Brynn Caprice (1919-2010), an American actress and model who appeared in several films and television shows during the mid-20th century. She was known for her portrayal of strong and independent women characters.
While the name Brynn has its roots in the Celtic languages, it has gained popularity in various parts of the world in recent times, particularly in English-speaking countries. However, its historical significance and connection to the Welsh and Breton cultures remain an integral part of its heritage.
People
Brynn + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Brynn 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
Brynn: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Brynn?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 28,938 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Brynn 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 11,844 US residents.
Is Brynn a common name?
We classify Brynn as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 29,434 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Brynn most popular?
The single biggest year for Brynn was 2011, when 1,671 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Brynn is about 17 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Brynn in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 24,679 people with the name Brynn, or 8.17 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #1,406 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 Brynn 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 Brynn?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Brynn leans strongly female. 24,352 people counted with this name were female (98.7%), compared with 323 male bearers (1.3%). 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 Brynn?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Brynn is White at 88.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.5%) 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 Brynn most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Brynn in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.5% (21,840 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 Brynn in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Brynn a female name?
Yes, 98.7% of people registered as Brynn 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 Brynn still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Brynn 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 Brynn 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 Americans are named Brynn?
See how many people share the name Brynn on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.