Meaning not yet researched.
Brenda: US girls given the name each year, 1880 to 2025, from Social Security card applications. 139 in 2025. Its best rank was #11 in 1961.
US births per year · SSA card applications
Peaked at #11 in 1961; #1,527 in 2025. Every baby recorded as Brenda in 2025 was a girl.
Baby name · US data 1880–2025
#1,527 for US girls in 2025. Its best year was 1961, at #11.
Hover, tap or use the arrow keys for any year. Years with fewer than five babies of a sex are not published by SSA and show as zero.
Brenda: US girls given the name each year from 1880 to 2025. 139 girls in 2025. Peak: #11 in 1961 · most girls in one year: 24,339 (1957).
In 2025, 139 US girls were named Brenda, making it the 1,527th most common girls’ name of the year, down 385 places from #1,142 in 2024. That is 73 fewer than the 212 girls named Brenda in 2024. Its best rank for girls was #11, reached in 1961. The most girls given the name in a single year was 24,339, in 1957. For comparison, it was #805 in 2015 and #14 in 1950.
Social Security card records list Brenda in 122 years of the 146 from 1880 to 2025, starting in 1897 with 7 babies. In all, 610,597 US babies have been given the name, 99.6% of them girls and 0.3% boys. Its busiest decade was the 1950s, with 209,689 babies named Brenda.
Over the 10 years from 2016 to 2025, 2,223 US girls were named Brenda; the busiest of those years was 2016, with 340. In 2025 that was about 1 in 11,563 of the girls in SSA’s list for the year.
Among the states, Brenda ranked highest in Indiana in 2025, at #936 for girls there. It was not in the top 100 of any state. Related spellings in the SSA files include Brinda (2,155 babies since 1880) and Brianda (1,973 babies since 1880). Rarer spellings such as Branda, Blenda and Brena are summarised on this page. The open nickname list we use links it to Brandy.
Meaning not yet researched.
We publish a meaning only with a cited source and a confidence label, and never generate one. Meanings are being researched for the most common names first.
Wikidata records this spelling as a given name in Catalan, Dutch, English, Galician, Irish, Polish, Portuguese and Spanish. That is where the name is used, not necessarily where it comes from.
Rare spellings summarised here: Branda (1,102), Blenda (1,022), Brena (794), Breanda (202), Brynda (171), Bryanda (94), Breonda (37), Brendaa (5), Brennda (5).
Numbers are all-time US births. Links come from Wikidata’s “said to be the same as” (P460, CC0) and our spelling rule: at most two letters different, with the same sound pattern.
US girls. Rank within each state. SSA leaves out states where fewer than five girls got the name, so 45 are not listed.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank 2025 | Rank 2015 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indiana | 6 | #936 | — |
| New Jersey | 7 | #959 | #869 |
| California | 27 | #1,001 | #566 |
| New York | 12 | #1,177 | #646 |
| Texas | 20 | #1,278 | #612 |
| Florida | 9 | #1,457 | #467 |
Births and national rank for each year SSA lists the name, newest first.
| Year | Girls | Girls rank | Boys | Boys rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 139 | #1,527 | — | — |
| 2024 | 212 | #1,142 | — | — |
| 2023 | 177 | #1,294 | — | — |
| 2022 | 189 | #1,271 | — | — |
| 2021 | 198 | #1,207 | — | — |
| 2020 | 180 | #1,261 | — | — |
| 2019 | 236 | #1,069 | — | — |
| 2018 | 258 | #1,007 | — | — |
| 2017 | 294 | #911 | — | — |
| 2016 | 340 | #841 | — | — |
| 2015 | 349 | #805 | — | — |
| 2014 | 384 | #730 | — | — |
| 2013 | 439 | #643 | — | — |
| 2012 | 561 | #538 | — | — |
| 2011 | 546 | #532 | — | — |
| 2010 | 735 | #426 | — | — |
| 2009 | 780 | #406 | — | — |
| 2008 | 968 | #343 | — | — |
| 2007 | 1,232 | #280 | 5 | #12,614 |
| 2006 | 1,419 | #240 | — | — |
| 2005 | 1,661 | #209 | 7 | #9,252 |
| 2004 | 1,660 | #201 | 11 | #6,585 |
| 2003 | 1,443 | #228 | 7 | #8,776 |
| 2002 | 1,550 | #213 | 6 | #9,534 |
| 2001 | 1,737 | #189 | 5 | #10,777 |
| 2000 | 1,898 | #172 | — | — |
| 1999 | 1,979 | #160 | — | — |
| 1998 | 2,133 | #149 | 9 | #6,382 |
| 1997 | 2,159 | #148 | 11 | #5,319 |
| 1996 | 2,414 | #131 | 11 | #5,224 |
| 1995 | 2,610 | #119 | 29 | #2,561 |
| 1994 | 2,655 | #121 | 28 | #2,628 |
| 1993 | 2,885 | #114 | 35 | #2,218 |
| 1992 | 2,827 | #119 | 28 | #2,542 |
| 1991 | 2,634 | #120 | 44 | #1,801 |
| 1990 | 2,633 | #123 | 32 | #2,220 |
| 1989 | 2,272 | #132 | 44 | #1,736 |
| 1988 | 2,285 | #123 | 42 | #1,672 |
| 1987 | 2,150 | #129 | 46 | #1,538 |
| 1986 | 2,241 | #124 | 50 | #1,403 |
| 1985 | 2,385 | #122 | 36 | #1,702 |
| 1984 | 2,497 | #112 | 31 | #1,800 |
| 1983 | 2,431 | #120 | 30 | #1,827 |
| 1982 | 2,517 | #118 | 25 | #2,118 |
| 1981 | 2,721 | #112 | 30 | #1,866 |
| 1980 | 2,648 | #115 | 24 | #2,165 |
| 1979 | 2,769 | #112 | 22 | #2,244 |
| 1978 | 2,873 | #103 | 14 | #2,948 |
| 1977 | 3,151 | #91 | 17 | #2,569 |
| 1976 | 3,587 | #77 | 17 | #2,517 |
| 1975 | 4,236 | #67 | 25 | #1,893 |
| 1974 | 4,830 | #59 | 17 | #2,368 |
| 1973 | 5,379 | #53 | 21 | #1,989 |
| 1972 | 6,270 | #44 | 26 | #1,731 |
| 1971 | 7,160 | #43 | 27 | #1,711 |
| 1970 | 8,336 | #40 | 20 | #1,996 |
| 1969 | 8,989 | #38 | 35 | #1,354 |
| 1968 | 9,945 | #34 | 41 | #1,188 |
| 1967 | 11,479 | #31 | 38 | #1,219 |
| 1966 | 13,294 | #25 | 42 | #1,152 |
| 1965 | 15,060 | #23 | 56 | #986 |
| 1964 | 17,106 | #18 | 46 | #1,129 |
| 1963 | 19,611 | #15 | 53 | #1,038 |
| 1962 | 21,274 | #12 | 65 | #939 |
| 1961 | 23,781 | #11 | 72 | #901 |
| 1960 | 23,963 | #13 | 63 | #954 |
| 1959 | 21,424 | #16 | 53 | #1,061 |
| 1958 | 21,337 | #16 | 45 | #1,149 |
| 1957 | 24,339 | #13 | 56 | #1,015 |
| 1956 | 19,341 | #19 | 37 | #1,259 |
| 1955 | 19,114 | #18 | 40 | #1,184 |
| 1954 | 19,609 | #18 | 39 | #1,203 |
| 1953 | 20,122 | #18 | 49 | #1,035 |
| 1952 | 21,439 | #15 | 44 | #1,097 |
| 1951 | 21,717 | #14 | 44 | #1,083 |
| 1950 | 20,799 | #14 | 41 | #1,105 |
| 1949 | 20,543 | #13 | 43 | #1,072 |
| 1948 | 17,700 | #17 | 39 | #1,146 |
| 1947 | 15,830 | #21 | 37 | #1,190 |
| 1946 | 12,690 | #24 | 34 | #1,197 |
| 1945 | 9,203 | #29 | 27 | #1,271 |
| 1944 | 8,999 | #30 | 28 | #1,256 |
| 1943 | 8,435 | #35 | 22 | #1,489 |
| 1942 | 7,241 | #40 | 28 | #1,317 |
| 1941 | 6,332 | #41 | 32 | #1,170 |
| 1940 | 5,442 | #42 | 19 | #1,579 |
| 1939 | 2,756 | #86 | 19 | #1,537 |
| 1938 | 676 | #244 | — | — |
| 1937 | 233 | #423 | — | — |
| 1936 | 163 | #511 | — | — |
| 1935 | 132 | #556 | — | — |
| 1934 | 106 | #652 | — | — |
| 1933 | 90 | #683 | — | — |
| 1932 | 95 | #695 | — | — |
| 1931 | 66 | #845 | — | — |
| 1930 | 63 | #917 | — | — |
| 1929 | 60 | #922 | — | — |
| 1928 | 54 | #1,016 | — | — |
| 1927 | 47 | #1,109 | — | — |
| 1926 | 55 | #1,006 | — | — |
| 1925 | 58 | #977 | — | — |
| 1924 | 44 | #1,189 | — | — |
| 1923 | 43 | #1,179 | — | — |
| 1922 | 44 | #1,161 | — | — |
| 1921 | 32 | #1,443 | — | — |
| 1920 | 32 | #1,411 | — | — |
| 1919 | 30 | #1,427 | — | — |
| 1918 | 28 | #1,499 | — | — |
| 1917 | 18 | #1,932 | — | — |
| 1916 | 23 | #1,590 | — | — |
| 1915 | 20 | #1,686 | — | — |
| 1914 | 15 | #1,748 | — | — |
| 1913 | 12 | #1,784 | — | — |
| 1912 | 17 | #1,308 | — | — |
| 1911 | 9 | #1,677 | — | — |
| 1910 | 8 | #1,792 | — | — |
| 1908 | 7 | #1,698 | — | — |
| 1905 | 8 | #1,435 | — | — |
| 1904 | 6 | #1,684 | — | — |
| 1903 | 5 | #1,827 | — | — |
| 1901 | 6 | #1,504 | — | — |
| 1897 | 7 | #1,278 | — | — |
About the data: counts are Social Security card applications for US births, for names given to at least five babies of a sex in a year (SSA, names.zip, public domain). Ranks follow SSA’s own order: most births first, ties alphabetical. Files retrieved 2026-10-05 (checksum on our sources page).