Given name & surname
Brainard
“a brave raven”
Brainard is used as a given name and a surname. One English interpretation is “a brave raven.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One English interpretation is “a brave raven.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is English.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1913. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Brainard through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 129
- 129 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1914
- 11 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 5 in 1975. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for boys was 11 in 1914. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 125 as a first name in 2020; 3,830 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Brainard’s family of names
Brainard has a related form in Braenard. Brainard has a related form in Braenerd. Brainard has a related form in Brainerd.
The ring: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 7
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Similar names
If you love Brainard, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Willard
“a resolute and brave man”
>99% boys
Halstead
“from the manor grounds”
>99% boys
Drexel
“a thoughtful man”
>99% boys
Eston
“from the eastern town”
>99% boys
Haywood
“from the hedged forest”
>99% boys
Gardner
“one who works the earth” · “the keeper of the garden”
97% boys · 3% girls
Gaines
“one who acquires”
>99% boys
Manning
“daughter of Man” · “the son of the man; the son of the hero”
95% boys · 5% girls