Brandon
Masculine · “the hill where broom grows”
Brandon is overwhelmingly a boys’ name — 770,509 boys against 4,145 girls since 1880. See Brandon as a girl name
Brandon is an English place name that became a surname and then, in America, a first name near the top of every list. There are Brandons in Suffolk, Norfolk, Warwickshire and Durham, and families took the name from whichever one they came from. It is not the English form of Brendan, though nearly everybody assumes it is.
How old is the name Brandon?
Brandon first appears in US birth records in 1914 — 111 years ago. The typical Brandon alive today was born around 1994, making them about 31 years old. About 741,000 people named Brandon are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Brandon most popular?
Brandon peaked in 1992, reaching #6 nationally. Today it ranks #261, 255 places below that high. See the whole 1992 chart.
Where it comes from
From brom to Brandon
The story of Brandon
The English Brandons are scattered and unalike: Suffolk's is a flint town, Durham's a colliery village, Warwickshire's a hamlet by the Avon. As a surname the name crossed to America early; as a first name it was rare until the twentieth century, when it climbed steadily and then very fast. Its resemblance to Brendan is pure coincidence of sound. Brendan is Irish, from Breanainn, and traces back through a Welsh word for a prince; Brandon is English and traces back to a hill covered in broom. The two names met on American lists and have been trading spellings ever since, which is where Brandan, Branden and Brenden come from, none of which is either name properly.
Meaning
the hill where broom grows
Old English brom, the yellow-flowered shrub, and dun, a hill. A few of the English Brandons have a different first element, burna, a stream, so not every Brandon on the map means the same thing.
How the name formed
- brom
- dun
- Brandon
Pronouncing Brandon
BRAN-dun
Two syllables, weight at the front, the second reduced almost to a hum. Said the same way on both sides of the Atlantic.
Nicknames for Brandon
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
- 1990 — Beverly Hills, 90210 premieres
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1914
- Most boys named
- 199429,492 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #6reached in 1992
- Change vs 2023
- −20.4%1,326 in 2025, from 1,665
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Brandon in other languages
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Florida.
Brandons among us
people named Brandon are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 1,288 born in 2025 was named Brandon
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Donald test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Brandon's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Donald climbed just as high around 1934, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Donald's path sketches the road Brandon is walking now.
Brandon is coming down from a big peak (#6 in 1992). This is the stretch of the cycle where a name starts to sound like the decade it ruled.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Brandon is headed
Brandon is easing off slowly — about 19% fewer babies a year by 2030 if the trend continues.
High confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Brandon beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Brandon in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Everyone can spell it and say it on first hearing, in almost any English-speaking country.
- The meaning is concrete and easy to picture: a hill covered in yellow broom.
- It has been common long enough to be entirely unremarkable, which is a strength if you want a name that does not announce itself.
- It ends on a soft unstressed syllable, so it sits well in front of almost any surname.
- It is one of the defining names of its generation and will place a person in time for anyone who hears it.
- Brendan, Branden, Brandan and Brenden are close enough to be confused with it constantly.
- The spelling is recorded for a small number of girls too, though it reads overwhelmingly as a boy's name.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Brandon to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Brandon? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Brandon
Masculine · #261 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Brandons are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 741,000 people named Brandon are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Brandon in 2025?
- Brandon ranks #261 among US boy names in 2025, with 1,326 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Brandon?
- About 1 in every 1,288 US boys born in 2025 was named Brandon — 1,326 in all.
- Will my child share the name Brandon with classmates?
- Brandon will almost certainly be the only one in school.
- What explains the spikes and dips on Brandon's chart?
- Brandon climbed after 1990 — Beverly Hills, 90210 premieres.
Ranked beside Brandon
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Omar#260 · Paul#262 · Ismael#263 · Xander#259 · Kayson#264 · Marcus#258 · Bodhi#265 · Ayden#257
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Brandon? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Brandon and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Or jump into a head-to-head
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle