Given name & surname · also Irish, Celtic
Brendan
“born to royalty; a prince”
Brendan is used as a given name and a surname. One Irish interpretation is “born to royalty; a prince.”
Original IrishBreanndán
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Irish interpretation is “born to royalty; a prince.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Celtic.
How it developed
In English usage, Brendan developed from Brendanus.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1912. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Brendan through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 92,141
- 91,816 boys · 325 girls
- Most popular year
- 1999
- 4,005 babies
- 2025
- 195
- #1,098 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −49%
- Cooling
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 195 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 1,098 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 49.1% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 3,995 in 1999. In 2025, New York had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (23). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 85,406 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Brendan’s family of names
In English usage, Brendan shares an earlier linguistic root with Brian. In English usage, Brendan has a related form in Brandon. In English usage, Brendan has a related form in Brandon.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Brendan has relatives in 16 languages. Lines run from its Proto-Celtic roots to each of them.
21 related names in 16 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 11
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Brandonvariant · English
- Brennanvariant · English
- Brendonvariant · English
- Brendenvariant · English
- Brenclipped form
- Brendynvariant
- Brenndanlikely variant
- Brendinvariant
Show 3 moreShow fewer
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 18
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Brendan
- Brendan FraserCanadian-American actor (born 1968)
- Brendan GleesonIrish actorborn 1955
- Brendan RodgersNorthern Irish association football managerborn 1973
- Brendan BehanIrish poet, short story writer, novelist, and playwright (1923-1964)
- Brendan the NavigatorIrish monastic saint486–577
- Brendan EichAmerican computer programmer and technology executiveborn 1961
- Brendan MurrayIrish singerborn 1996
- Brendan PerryBritish singer and multi-instrumentalistborn 1959
- Brendan FehrCanadian-American actorborn 1977
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
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If you love Brendan, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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