Boys' name · peaked in 1999
Brendan name popularity since 1925
91,983 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Brendan. Half of them were born in 1997 or earlier, so the typical Brendan is about 29 years old in 2026. Brendan peaked in 1999 as the #96 name for boys, and it was outside the top 1,000 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 91,983
- Named Brendan, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- Not top 1,000
- #1,098 for boys in 2025
- Girls / boys
- 99.6% boys
- 325 girls · 91,658 boys
- Most popular in
- Massachusetts
- 3.54× its national share
Peak year is the year Brendan made up the largest share of US boys, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Brendan births per year, 1925–2025
1999 was the biggest year for Brendan both by count and as a share of all babies.
- Fastest rise: Between 1961 and 1966, Brendan became 2.4× more common, from 1 in 8,810 baby boys to 1 in 3,650.
- Steepest fall: Between 2015 and 2020, its share of baby boys fell by 54%, from 1 in 2,320 to 1 in 5,020.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Brendan's share of all US boys five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Brendan.
Decade by decade
Babies named Brendan in each decade, and its rank among boys' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 0 | 92 | – |
| 1930s | 0 | 289 | #1,127 |
| 1940s | 0 | 444 | #928 |
| 1950s | 0 | 984 | #736 |
| 1960s | 5 | 3,437 | #439 |
| 1970s | 39 | 6,930 | #292 |
| 1980s | 110 | 14,598 | #185 |
| 1990s | 109 | 28,521 | #133 |
| 2000s | 62 | 25,836 | #176 |
| 2010s | 0 | 8,908 | #387 |
| 2020–25 | 0 | 1,619 | #1,098 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 boys that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
45.0% of babies named Brendan from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Gen Z years (1997–2012). The full split by generation:
Where Brendan is most popular
The index compares Brendan'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 Brendan.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| Massachusetts | 3.54× | 7,595 |
| Connecticut | 2.78× | 2,711 |
| New Hampshire | 2.63× | 746 |
| Rhode Island | 2.19× | 700 |
| New Jersey | 1.74× | 4,307 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Brendan and were given to at least 1,000 boys from 1925 to 2025, with the year each one was most popular.
| Spelling | Boys | Peak year |
|---|---|---|
| Brendan (this page) | 91,658 | 1999 |
| Brenden | 25,715 | 2000 |
| Brendon | 20,081 | 1998 |
| Brendyn | 1,407 | 2009 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 1999 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Brendan's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Brendan.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Brendan (1999).
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