ninan.org

Brenda

Girls' name · Mid-century

Living in the US
~509,300 survival-weighted estimate
2025 rank
#1,525 among girls
Births in 2025
139 610,597 since 1880
Typical age
65 years, median

Brenda popularity over time

Brenda rank by birth year, 1897–2025Brenda ranked #1,263 in 1897 and #1,525 in 2025. Its best rank in the period was #11, in 1961.#10#100#1,000#1,525best #11 in 19611920195019802010
Rank among US baby names by birth year, 1897–2025. Lower is more popular; the scale is logarithmic so the top of the chart is not compressed.

More children were named Brenda in 1957 than in any other year — 24,395 of them. It first clears the SSA reporting threshold in 1897. Across the record, 39 years put Brenda in the top 100.

In 2025 it ranked #1,525 with 139 births. Over ten years the count has fallen 60%. Year on year the rank dropped by 385.

Babies named Brenda per yearPeaks at 24,395 births in 1957.24,395 in 195701920195019802010
Recorded US births by year. The peak is labelled; the axis starts at zero.

How many people are named Brenda?

An estimated 509,300 living Americans are called Brenda. SSA has recorded 610,597 births under the name since 1880.

This is a survival-weighted estimate, not a headcount: every recorded birth year is multiplied by the chance someone born that year is still alive, using the SSA period life table. How the estimate works.

How old is the average Brenda?

Half of living Brendas are older than 65, half younger. More of them were born in the 1950s than in any other decade. By the site’s era rules that makes Brenda a mid-century name.

Your Brenda

Ages of living people named BrendaHalf of living Brendas are older than 65 and half younger.median 65020406080100
Estimated living bearers by age today. Each bar is a birth year, weighted by the chance someone born then is still alive.

Where Brenda is most common

New Jersey uses the name 1.8× as often as the country as a whole. California, Florida and Texas follow.

Where Brenda is used more than average4 states use the name Brenda more than the national average.Alaska: not over-representedAKMaine: not over-representedMEVermont: not over-representedVTNew Hampshire: not over-representedNHWashington: not over-representedWAIdaho: not over-representedIDMontana: not over-representedMTNorth Dakota: not over-representedNDMinnesota: not over-representedMNIllinois: not over-representedILWisconsin: not over-representedWIMichigan: not over-representedMINew York: not over-representedNYOregon: not over-representedORNevada: not over-representedNVWyoming: not over-representedWYSouth Dakota: not over-representedSDIowa: not over-representedIAIndiana: not over-representedINOhio: not over-representedOHPennsylvania: not over-representedPANew Jersey: 1.8× the national rateNJConnecticut: not over-representedCTRhode Island: not over-representedRICalifornia: 1.7× the national rateCAUtah: not over-representedUTColorado: not over-representedCONebraska: not over-representedNEMissouri: not over-representedMOKentucky: not over-representedKYWest Virginia: not over-representedWVVirginia: not over-representedVAMaryland: not over-representedMDDelaware: not over-representedDEMassachusetts: not over-representedMAArizona: not over-representedAZNew Mexico: not over-representedNMKansas: not over-representedKSArkansas: not over-representedARTennessee: not over-representedTNNorth Carolina: not over-representedNCSouth Carolina: not over-representedSCDistrict of Columbia: not over-representedDCOklahoma: not over-representedOKLouisiana: not over-representedLAMississippi: not over-representedMSAlabama: not over-representedALGeorgia: not over-representedGAHawaii: not over-representedHITexas: 1.6× the national rateTXFlorida: 1.6× the national rateFL
Same as national3× or more
Location quotient, 2016–2025. Shaded states use the name more than the country does, relative to their own births. Exact figures are in the table below.
States where Brenda is over-represented, 2016–2025. The location quotient compares the state's share of the name with the national share.
StateBirthsvs national rate
New Jersey 91 1.8×
California 419 1.7×
Florida 187 1.6×
Texas 344 1.6×

Where the name Brenda comes from

Possibly from Old Norse brandr (“sword”); by folk etymology seen as a feminine form of Brendan. Its use as a nickname for Queen Elizabeth II originated in Private Eye in reaction to a perceived attempt by the royals to appear less distant and upper class.

Etymology summarised from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0. Wiktionary entry.

Notable people named Brenda

Ordered by how many Wikipedia language editions have an article about them — a measure of reach, not of importance.
NameKnown forYearsEditions
Brenda Song American actress and model 1988 59
Brenda Fricker Irish actress 1945–2026 49
Brenda Blethyn British actress 1946 44
Brenda Vaccaro American actress 1939 42
Brenda Lee American singer and recording artist 1944 41
Brenda Strong American actress 1960 38
Brenda Fassie South African pop singer 1964–2004 38
Brenda Milner Canada-based British neuroscientist and neuropsychologist 1918 31
Photo credits (6)

The sharpest rise. Births under this name jumped from 676 in 1938 to 2,775 in 1939 — 4.1 times over in a single year.

Birth records contain the rise and nothing about its cause. This site does not supply one.

People and dates from Wikidata (CC0), limited to those with an English Wikipedia article who are known by this name as their first name.

Related pages

Get this data

Every number on this page is available as JSON: /api/name/brenda.json. Free to use with attribution (CC BY 4.0).