boy's name
Bruno
BROO-noh
- Origin Germanic
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 2
- Letters 5
- Popularity Top 1000 (France)
- Births on record 243,692
the United States
#740
2025 births
Bruno is a boy's name from the Germanic word for brown, and it founded the Carthusians — the strictest order in the Western church, whose monks still live largely in silence. It charts in five markets.
- Bruno is a name of Germanic origin.
- Peaked in France in 1963, when 12,740 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade in France.
- Today about 1 in 19,650 babies in France is given this name.
- First appears in birth records in 1900.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Bruno over time
Births per decade in France, 1900s 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 |
|---|---|
| 1900s | 380 |
| 1910s | 525 |
| 1920s | 1,635 |
| 1930s | 3,155 |
| 1940s | 5,795 |
| 1950s | 42,025 |
| 1960s | 105,640 |
| 1970s | 40,385 |
| 1980s | 14,200 |
| 1990s | 4,665 |
| 2000s | 1,665 |
| 2010s | 595 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 195 |
What Bruno means
Bruno means brown, or dark. The Germanic word describes hair or complexion directly, so the name began as a physical byname rather than a compound.
Where Bruno comes from
Bruno is the Germanic brun, brown — the same word as the English brown and as the bear's name Bruin, since Germanic languages often called the bear the brown one rather than using its true name, a taboo avoidance that also gives the Russian medved, honey-eater. Saint Bruno of Cologne founded the Carthusians in 1084 in the mountains above Grenoble, an order of near-total silence and solitude that has never been reformed because, in its own phrase, it was never deformed. Chartreuse, the liqueur, is made by them and named for their mother house.
Bruno in use
Bruno peaked in France in 1963, when 12,740 babies were registered, and is falling in our data. It now ranks 435th in Scotland on 7 births, 596th in Ireland, 602nd in England and Wales on 64, 740th in the United States on 351 and 1147th in France on 30, across 243,692 lifetime births in six of the seven markets we track. It has considerably wider reach than most French names of its generation.
How popular is Bruno?
In 2025, Bruno was given to 30 babies in France. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Bruno is used
French counts are rounded to the nearest five and nothing below five is published, so these figures show the shape of the name's use rather than an exact tally. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Bruno
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Bruno also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Bruno over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Bruno 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.
- Polish
- Brunon
Sibling names for Bruno
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Bruno — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Bruno
What does the name Bruno mean?
Brown or dark, from the Germanic brun — the same word as the English brown.
Is Bruno related to the bear?
Through the word. Germanic languages called the bear the brown one rather than using its true name, which gives Bruin.
Who was Saint Bruno?
The founder of the Carthusians in 1084 — an order of near-total silence that also makes Chartreuse.
How popular is Bruno?
740th in the United States and 602nd in England and Wales. It charts in five of the six markets we track.
Is Bruno a girl's or a boy's name?
Bruno is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Bruno?
Bruno has 2 syllables.
Is Bruno a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Bruno currently ranks #435 in France. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.