boy's name
Brandon
BRAN-dun
- Origin English
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 2
- Letters 7
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 850,382
the United States
#261
2025 births
Brandon is a boy's name from an English place name meaning broom-covered hill, often confused with the Irish Brendan. It charts in all seven markets we track and peaked in 1992, making it one of the youngest names in this group.
- Brandon is a name of English origin.
- Peaked in 1992, when 29,724 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 2,500 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1914.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Brandon over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1910s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1910s | 74 |
| 1920s | 125 |
| 1930s | 86 |
| 1940s | 192 |
| 1950s | 1,207 |
| 1960s | 4,369 |
| 1970s | 65,838 |
| 1980s | 234,305 |
| 1990s | 260,180 |
| 2000s | 143,292 |
| 2010s | 54,209 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 10,777 |
What Brandon means
Brandon means broom hill, from English elements for the broom shrub and a hill. It is a place name rather than a personal one, and it is not related to Brendan despite the resemblance.
Where Brandon comes from
Brandon is an English place name and surname, from brom, the broom shrub, joined to dun, a hill — so a hill where broom grows. Several villages in England carry it. It is persistently confused with the Irish Brendan, which comes from a Welsh word for a prince and belongs to Saint Brendan the Navigator, the sixth-century monk whose legendary Atlantic voyage was read for centuries as a possible discovery of America. The two names are unrelated in origin, and the confusion runs deep enough that many reference works give Brandon the Irish meaning. Its rise as a given name is American and late twentieth-century.
Brandon in use
Brandon peaked in the United States in 1992, when 29,724 babies were registered, and is falling in our data. It charts in all seven markets — 261st in the United States on 1,326 births, 313th in Northern Ireland, 524th in Canada, 708th in Ireland, 754th in Scotland, 824th in England and Wales and 1567th in France — across 850,382 lifetime births. Along with Justin and Stephanie it belongs to a later wave than most names of this volume.
How popular is Brandon?
In 2025, Brandon was given to 1,326 babies in the United States, ranking #261 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Brandon is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Brandon
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Brandon also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Brandon over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Brandon
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Brandon in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Brandon
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Brandon — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Brandon
What does the name Brandon mean?
Broom hill — an English place name from brom, the broom shrub, and dun, a hill.
Is Brandon the same as Brendan?
No. They are unrelated: Brandon is an English place name, Brendan comes from a Welsh word for a prince.
Is Brandon an Irish name?
Not by origin, though many references give it Brendan's Irish meaning by mistake.
How popular is Brandon?
261st in the United States. It charts in all six markets we track.
Is Brandon a girl's or a boy's name?
Brandon is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Brandon?
Brandon has 2 syllables.
What are the nicknames for Brandon?
Brandon is usually shortened to Bran.
Is Brandon a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Brandon currently ranks #261 in the United States. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.