Girls' name · peaked in 1950
Brenda name popularity since 1925
610,183 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Brenda. Half of them were born in 1958 or earlier, so the typical Brenda is about 68 years old in 2026. Brenda peaked in 1950 as the #14 name for girls, and it was outside the top 1,000 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 610,183
- Named Brenda, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- Not top 1,000
- #1,527 for girls in 2025
- Girls / boys
- 99.7% girls
- 608,064 girls · 2,119 boys
- Most popular in
- West Virginia
- 2.28× its national share
Peak year is the year Brenda made up the largest share of US girls, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Brenda births per year, 1925–2025
The biggest year by count was 1957. Measured as a share of all babies, Brenda peaked in 1950.
- Fastest rise: Between 1935 and 1940, Brenda became 38× more common, from 1 in 7,940 baby girls to 1 in 210.
- Steepest fall: Between 2006 and 2011, its share of baby girls fell by 58%, from 1 in 1,340 to 1 in 3,220.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Brenda's share of all US girls five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Brenda.
Decade by decade
Babies named Brenda in each decade, and its rank among girls' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 274 | 0 | – |
| 1930s | 4,380 | 19 | #556 |
| 1940s | 112,415 | 309 | #29 |
| 1950s | 209,241 | 448 | #18 |
| 1960s | 164,502 | 511 | #23 |
| 1970s | 48,591 | 206 | #67 |
| 1980s | 24,147 | 358 | #122 |
| 1990s | 24,929 | 227 | #119 |
| 2000s | 14,348 | 41 | #209 |
| 2010s | 4,142 | 0 | #805 |
| 2020–25 | 1,095 | 0 | #1,527 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 girls that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
62.7% of babies named Brenda from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Baby Boom years (1946–1964). The full split by generation:
Where Brenda is most popular
The index compares Brenda's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Brenda.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| West Virginia | 2.28× | 12,299 |
| Kentucky | 1.94× | 19,920 |
| Arkansas | 1.81× | 11,408 |
| Tennessee | 1.81× | 23,399 |
| Alabama | 1.77× | 19,173 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 499 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Brenda's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Brenda.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Brenda (1950).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data