Brandon is a masculine given name which originates from two or possibly three separate sources, two Celtic, the other,

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...

, and has historically been used by these different cultures independently. Today, most people with the name do not have any connection or lineage with any of these sources and use them as if they were the same name. In the instances of the Celtic origins, it is either a variant of the Irish masculine given name, Breandán, meaning prince or king, or descended from the

Old Welsh Old Welsh ( cy, Hen Gymraeg) is the stage of the Welsh language from about 800 AD until the early 12th century when it developed into Middle Welsh.Koch, p. 1757. The preceding period, from the time Welsh became distinct from Common Brittonic ...

name Brân, meaning "crow" or "little raven". The Anglo-Saxon origin is the

surname In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name ...

'' Brandon''.

Origin of the name

The given name ''Brandon'' as a variant form of the Irish given name '' Brendan''. The webpage cited the following book for the given name "Brandon": is an

Anglicised Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by English culture or British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English becomes English. It can also refer to the influen ...

form of the Old Irish name, ''Bréanainn'', which is in turn derived from the earlier Old Irish ''Brénainn''. The mediaeval Latin form of the name, Brendanus, has influenced its spelling in the modern English and Irish forms. However, the name has no meaning in the Irish language, and was absorbed from the

''breenhin'', meaning Prince or Chieftain. In the instance of the Welsh "Bran" as the origin, meaning "crow" or "little raven", there is also a general Celtic nebula of related words and names across the European continent. In the instance of a more probable Anglo-Saxon origin, the surname can be derived from any of the numerous place-names in England, composed of two elements (brōm + dūn) derived from the Old English language. The first element, ''brōm'', means " broom" or "

gorse ''Ulex'' (commonly known as gorse, furze, or whin) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. The genus comprises about 20 species of thorny evergreen shrubs in the subfamily Faboideae of the pea family Fabaceae. The species are n ...

", and the second, ''dūn'', means " hill". Such places can include: Brandon,

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

; Brandon, Northumberland; Brandon,

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

; Brandon, Warwickshire; and other locations. However, one location, Brandon in Lincolnshire, may be connected to the

River Brant The River Brant is a tributary of the River Witham that flows entirely in the county of Lincolnshire, in the east of England. In 1855 the River was described as follows; "Brant, a tributary of the Witham in the western part of the county of Linc ...

, which runs close by. This river's name is derived from two Old English elements: ''brant'', meaning "steep", "deep"; and ''dūn'', meaning " hill". The webpage cited the following book for the placename "Brandon": The name of this location is probably in reference to the river's steep banks.. The webpage cited the following book for the surname "Brandon": A famous instance of the use of 'Brandon' as a surname is that of Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk. He was a close friend and brother-in-law of King

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

. In certain cases, it can be the French surname ''Brandon'', which derives from the other French surname ''Brand'', itself from the Old French ''brand, brant'' "sword" or from the French word ''brandon'' "burning material to set fire". Variant form is ''Brandin''.

Statistics

Australia

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

's most populated state, New South Wales, in the year 2009, ''Brandon'' did not crack the top 100 male, or top 100 female, names of babies registered in New South Wales.

Canada

In the Canadian province of British Columbia, the name ranked as the 66th most popular male name for the year 2007; it did not rank as a female name (to rank the name had to have been used by 5 or more occurrences).

Chile

In Chile, the name has not cracked the top 50 male names in the years spanning 1999 to 2006; from 2003 to 2006 it was amongst the top 100 male names. ;Rank and percent of the male name

The Netherlands

In the year 2009, ''Brandon'' was the 160th most common male name, recorded in births, in the Netherlands; there were 67 occurrences of the name recorded that year. The previous year the name ranked 159th, with 73 recorded occurrences.

Republic of Ireland

;Rank of male Irish baby births, and rank of male Irish names

Sweden

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

, there were 230 males registered in 2009 who had the first name ''Brandon''; of these men, 170 recorded the name as a nickname. In the years spanning 2002 to 2009, the name was not amongst the top 100 male, or female, baby names.

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, the name has risen in popularity since the mid-1990s.. The webpage cited the following book for the given name "Brandon":

England and Wales

In England and Wales, in the year 2008, ''Brandon'' was the 70th most common male baby name, along with Breasen being a form of Brandon or meaning son of Brandon, with 1,011 occurrences recorded. It had fallen in rank, slightly from the previous year when it was ranked 66th most common, with 1161 occurrences. The name has dramatically fallen in popularity since 1998, when it was ranked 36th, with 2142 occurrences recorded. ;Rank and numbers of English and Welsh baby births

Northern Ireland

In Northern Ireland, ''Brandon'' was not amongst the top 20 names of male, or female, babies born in the year 2009. It did not crack the top 100 male, or the top 100 female, names registered in the two previous years either. In 2002 the name was ranked 84 most common male baby name, falling drastically from 30th ranked name the year before. ;Rank and numbers of male Northern Irish baby births The name did not rank amongst the top 100 male baby names in 2007 and 2008.

Scotland

In Scotland, in the year 2009, the name was ranked as the 90th most common names for male babies, with 67 occurrences recorded. The name had dramatically fallen in popularity from the previous year. In the years 1998 and 1999, the name was the 46th most common name for male births, although the name has fallen in rank in almost every year since then. ;Rank and percent of male Scottish baby births

United States

The name is, for the most part, found in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

. In 1982, the name was the 7th most common given name amongst African American males, and the 23rd most common name amongst White American males. The name was ranked in the 1990 United States Census as being the 68th most common name amongst males. The Social Security Administration website lists the top 1,000 American baby names for every year since 1879. In the year 1950, ''Brandon'' first reached the top 1,000 male names for babies who were registered for

Social Security number In the United States, a Social Security number (SSN) is a nine-digit number issued to U.S. citizens, permanent residents, and temporary (working) residents under section 205(c)(2) of the Social Security Act, codified as . The number is issued to ...

s for births. That year it was the 936th most common masculine name. From that year until the beginning of the 1990s, the name has, for the most part, risen in popularity with every successive year. It reached its peak in the years 1992, 1993, and 1994, when it was the 6th most popular name amongst male babies. The name has fallen in popularity in almost every year since then; in 2009, it was ranked the 38th most common name registered that year. Brandon is considered to be a very masculine name; however, in the United States it has also been used as a feminine name. In 1981, it reached the top 1,000 female names for babies who were registered for

s for births; that year it was the 748th most common female name registered for births. The name stayed within the top 1,000 female names from 1981 to 1988, fluctuating in rank; it reached its peak in 1985, when it ranked 661st; in 1988, it ranked 990th. In 2009, the names ''Brandon'' and ''

Bryan Bryan may refer to: Places United States * Bryan, Arkansas * Bryan, Kentucky * Bryan, Ohio * Bryan, Texas * Bryan, Wyoming, a ghost town in Sweetwater County in the U.S. state of Wyoming * Bryan Township (disambiguation) Facilities and structur ...

'' were ranked as the 15th most common names for male twins, according to Social Security number applications for births. ;Years when the name ranked amongst the top 1,000 American baby names The following table lists the year and rank when ''Brandon'' ranked amongst the top 1,000 male, or the top 1,000 female, baby names in the United States. If no rank is given in the table, then the name was not amongst the top 1,000. The highest rank for males, and for females, is labelled in boldface.

Feminine forms

It has been stated that the feminine given name ''

Brandy Brandy is a liquor produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35–60% alcohol by volume (70–120 US proof) and is typically consumed as an after-dinner digestif. Some brandies are aged in wooden casks. Others are coloured with ...

'' is derived from a word referring to a

liquor Liquor (or a spirit) is an alcoholic drink produced by distillation of grains, fruits, vegetables, or sugar, that have already gone through alcoholic fermentation. Other terms for liquor include: spirit drink, distilled beverage or hard ...

called " brandy wine", or "brandewine". These English words are derived from the

Dutch language Dutch ( ) is a West Germanic language spoken by about 25 million people as a first language and 5 million as a second language. It is the third most widely spoken Germanic language, after its close relatives German and English. ''Afrikaans'' ...

''brandewijn'', meaning "burnt wine", in reference to a

distilled Distillation, or classical distillation, is the process of separating the components or substances from a liquid mixture by using selective boiling and condensation, usually inside an apparatus known as a still. Dry distillation is the heating ...

wine. See also: However, the name ''Brandy'' is now considered to be more likely a feminine form of ''Brandon''. Variant forms of ''Brandy'' include: ''Brandie'', and ''Brandi''.. The webpage cited the following book for the given name "Brandy":

People with the name Brandon

Actors

* Brandon Chang, Taiwanese actor and musician (born 1985) * Brandon T. Jackson, American actor, comedian, rapper and writer (born 1984) * Brandon Lee, American actor and martial artist (1965–1993) * Brandon McClelland (actor), Brandon McClelland, Australian actor (born 1992) * Brandon McInnis, American voice actor * Brandon Jay McLaren, Canadian actor (born 1980) * Brandon Routh, American actor (born 1979) * Brandon Scott (actor), Brandon Scott, American actor, voice actor and producer (born 1981) * Brandon Mychal Smith, American actor, singer, dancer and rapper (born 1989)

References

{{given name, Brandon, nocat English-language masculine given names English masculine given names Given names originating from a surname Masculine given names North American given names