Breonna
Feminine
Brianna is written with an ia that English cannot decide how to say, so American parents rebuilt it with letters that behave. Breonna swaps in eo, which is stable in every English word it appears in, and gets a spelling that says itself.
How old is the name Breonna?
Breonna first appears in US birth records in 1978 — 47 years ago. The typical Breonna alive today was born around 2000, making them about 25 years old. About 5,100 people named Breonna are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Breonna most popular?
Breonna peaked in 1995, reaching #734 nationally. Today it ranks #10917, 10,183 places below that high. See the whole 1995 chart.
Where it comes from
From Brian to Breonna
The story of Breonna
The vowels in Brianna are the problem it was built to solve. English gives ia at least three readings — the one in Maria, the one in trivia, the one in Amelia — so Brianna can be said in three ways and regularly is. Parents who wanted one reading rather than three reached for combinations that English handles consistently, and eo is one of them: it holds its shape in Leon, in Cleo, in Theo. Breonna, Breona and Breanna are all attempts at the same repair, made independently in thousands of households. It is a spelling designed by ear, and by that standard it works.
Meaningnot established
the meaning of Brian is not settled
Breonna reshapes Brianna, the American feminine built on Irish Brian, and Brian's root has never been established: proposals include a word for hill or height and a word meaning noble. The -onna ending is English decoration. There is no documented meaning to give.
How the name formed
- Brian
- Brianna
- Breonna
Pronouncing Breonna
bree-ON-uh
Three syllables with the stress in the middle. The eo is doing exactly what it was chosen to do: it is read the same way by almost everyone on first sight.
Nicknames for Breonna
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1978
- Most girls named
- 1994280 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #734reached in 1995
- Change vs 2024
- −11.1%8 in 2025, from 9
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.
Breonna in other languages
Strongest US states over the last decade: Ohio.
Breonnas among us
people named Breonna are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 200,908 born in 2025 was named Breonna
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 Nicki test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Breonna's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Nicki climbed just as high around 1972, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Nicki's path sketches the road Breonna is walking now.
Breonna sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Breonna beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Breonna in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The spelling does what it was built for and is read correctly first time.
- Bre and Bree both work as short forms without any effort.
- Three open syllables that carry well across a room.
- Since 2020 the name has been publicly associated with Breonna Taylor, whose death during a police raid in Louisville became a national cause. Some families will choose it for that and some will choose otherwise; either way, people will make the connection.
- Brianna and Breanna are both commoner, so the spelling will be corrected toward them.
- There is no established meaning behind Brian, so the name inherits an open question.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Breonna to the vote.
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What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Breonna
Feminine · #10917 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Breonnas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 5,100 people named Breonna are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Breonna in 2025?
- Breonna ranks #10917 among US girl names in 2025, with 8 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Breonna?
- About 1 in every 200,908 US girls born in 2025 was named Breonna — 8 in all.
- Will my child share the name Breonna with classmates?
- Breonna will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Breonna
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Edythe#10917 · Tessie#10917 · Drusilla#10917 · Eugenie#10917 · Ivah#10917 · Karri#10917 · Claribel#10917 · Myrtle#10917
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Breonna? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Breonna and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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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
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