How common is the name Brenda?

521,400 people in the United States have the first name Brenda, about 1 in 579. It ranks #80 of 53,615 first names in the 2020 Census.

first name

BRENDA

#80

of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census

People
521,400
About
1 in 579
This common or more
27%
Who bears it

Of the 521,400 people named Brenda, 64.9% reported their origin as White, 17.1% as Hispanic or Latino and 14.1% as Black. Virtually all are female (99.9%). These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.

Brenda peaked in 1957, when 24,395 babies got the name.

Births per year, SSA records 1880–2025
18972025
Peak year
1957
Births that year
24,395
In 2025*
139 ▼99%
Recorded as
almost entirely female

At least 610,597 babies have been given the name since 1897. Years SSA withheld, because fewer than 5 were born, are skipped rather than drawn as zero. * 2025 is the newest year published and it undercounts: a card application is filed some time after a birth.

Brenda by decade

Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 1950s, when it ranked #37. The largest share of babies named Brenda, 62.7%, were born during the baby boom (1946–1964).

1890s#3,6367
1900s#3,11732
1910s#2,860180
1920s#2,045469
1930s#5544,399
1940s#48112,724
1950s#37209,689
1960s#45165,013
1970s#12548,797
1980s#24924,505
1990s#26925,156
2000s#47114,389
2010s#1,3094,142
2020s#2,3741,095
Before 19010%
Greatest Generation 1901–270.1%
Silent Generation 1928–458.2%
Baby boom 1946–6462.7%
Generation X 1965–8018.1%
Millennials 1981–966.7%
Generation Z 1997–123.7%
2013 and later0.6%

Rank counts both sexes together, among every name SSA recorded that decade; the number under it is births. The 2020s run only to 2025. Generation years follow Pew Research Center, which has not named a generation after 2012.

Where Brenda is most common

Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Brenda has been most common in West Virginia (2.2×), Kentucky (1.9×), and Tennessee (1.8×), and least common in New Jersey (0.53×).

606,500 births recorded by state, 1910–2025. 2× means twice as common as nationally. States with fewer than 30 such births are left blank, and SSA withholds any year with fewer than 5 in a state, so small states read low.

Either side of Brenda

#78 Nicole · 544,076#79 Tyler · 541,525#81 Samantha · 517,508#82 Anna · 512,954

Spelled almost the same

8 first names in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Brenda, most common first.

#617 Brendan · 85,406#7,072 Brinda · 2,190#8,724 Branda · 1,647#17,586 Brendy · 624#24,534 Brend · 392#25,022 Breanda · 381#32,331 Brendi · 261#33,205 Brendt · 250

Also a last name

As a last name, Brenda ranks #59,374 of 156,621, with 368 people. See Brenda as a last name

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