Brenda
- Gender
- Girl
- US rank, 2025
- #1,525 for girls
Brenda is a girls' name, meaning “sword”. In 2025 it ranked 1,525th for girls in the US (139 babies).
What does Brenda mean?
“sword”
A female given name.
From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Is Brenda a girl's or a boy's name?
Brenda is a girls' name. In 2025, it was given to 139 girls in the US. Too few boys were given it to be listed.
How popular is Brenda in the UK?
No girls in the UK were given it in 2025, or too few to be listed. Its busiest year was 1998, with 15 girls.
Half of all the girls named Brenda in the UK since 1996 were born between 2001 and 2013. It was already well used in 1996, when the records begin, so earlier girls aren't counted.
In the England and Wales top 100 for girls, which the ONS has published every ten years since 1904: 1924 (#58), 1934 (#16), 1944 (#22) and 1954 (#52).
Brenda in the UK, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 4 | #4,907 |
| 2023 | 4 | #4,915 |
| 2022 | 1 | #7,487 |
| 2021 | 3 | #5,824 |
| 2020 | 9 | #2,766 |
| 2019 | 8 | #3,018 |
| 2018 | 3 | #5,896 |
| 2017 | 8 | #3,102 |
| 2016 | 6 | #3,788 |
| 2015 | 1 | #7,629 |
| 2014 | 7 | #3,321 |
| 2013 | 6 | #3,719 |
| 2012 | 7 | #3,471 |
| 2011 | 3 | #6,007 |
| 2010 | 8 | #2,992 |
| 2009 | 9 | #2,695 |
| 2008 | 10 | #2,454 |
| 2007 | 5 | #3,858 |
| 2006 | 14 | #1,764 |
| 2005 | 13 | #1,807 |
| 2004 | 10 | #2,064 |
| 2003 | 10 | #1,954 |
| 2002 | 10 | #1,874 |
| 2001 | 13 | #1,542 |
| 2000 | 8 | #2,097 |
| 1999 | 10 | #1,770 |
| 1998 | 15 | #1,350 |
| 1997 | 11 | #1,664 |
| 1996 | 8 | #2,012 |
How popular is Brenda in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- 1,525th among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 139 about 1 in 12,000 girls
- Five-year trend
- Steady down 22% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 139 girls in the US were named Brenda, making it the 1,525th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 1,261st. Its busiest year was 1957, with 24,339 girls. It first appears in the records in 1897.
2025 had fewer girls named Brenda than any year since 1935.
Half of all the girls named Brenda in the US since 1880 were born between 1951 and 1966, the years shaded on the chart below.
Brenda in the US, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 139 | #1,525 |
| 2024 | 212 | #1,140 |
| 2023 | 177 | #1,292 |
| 2022 | 189 | #1,269 |
| 2021 | 198 | #1,207 |
| 2020 | 180 | #1,261 |
| 2019 | 236 | #1,069 |
| 2018 | 258 | #1,007 |
| 2017 | 294 | #910 |
| 2016 | 340 | #840 |
| 2015 | 349 | #805 |
| 2014 | 384 | #729 |
| 2013 | 439 | #643 |
| 2012 | 561 | #538 |
| 2011 | 546 | #532 |
| 2010 | 735 | #426 |
| 2009 | 780 | #406 |
| 2008 | 968 | #343 |
| 2007 | 1,232 | #280 |
| 2006 | 1,419 | #240 |
| 2005 | 1,661 | #209 |
| 2004 | 1,660 | #201 |
| 2003 | 1,443 | #228 |
| 2002 | 1,550 | #213 |
| 2001 | 1,737 | #189 |
| 2000 | 1,898 | #172 |
| 1999 | 1,979 | #160 |
| 1998 | 2,133 | #149 |
| 1997 | 2,159 | #148 |
| 1996 | 2,414 | #131 |
| 1995 | 2,610 | #119 |
| 1994 | 2,655 | #121 |
| 1993 | 2,885 | #114 |
| 1992 | 2,827 | #119 |
| 1991 | 2,634 | #120 |
| 1990 | 2,633 | #123 |
| 1989 | 2,272 | #132 |
| 1988 | 2,285 | #123 |
| 1987 | 2,150 | #129 |
| 1986 | 2,241 | #124 |
| 1985 | 2,385 | #122 |
| 1984 | 2,497 | #112 |
| 1983 | 2,431 | #120 |
| 1982 | 2,517 | #118 |
| 1981 | 2,721 | #112 |
| 1980 | 2,648 | #115 |
| 1979 | 2,769 | #112 |
| 1978 | 2,873 | #103 |
| 1977 | 3,151 | #91 |
| 1976 | 3,587 | #77 |
| 1975 | 4,236 | #67 |
| 1974 | 4,830 | #59 |
| 1973 | 5,379 | #53 |
| 1972 | 6,270 | #44 |
| 1971 | 7,160 | #43 |
| 1970 | 8,336 | #40 |
| 1969 | 8,989 | #38 |
| 1968 | 9,945 | #34 |
| 1967 | 11,479 | #31 |
| 1966 | 13,294 | #25 |
| 1965 | 15,060 | #23 |
| 1964 | 17,106 | #18 |
| 1963 | 19,611 | #15 |
| 1962 | 21,274 | #12 |
| 1961 | 23,781 | #11 |
| 1960 | 23,963 | #13 |
| 1959 | 21,424 | #16 |
| 1958 | 21,337 | #16 |
| 1957 | 24,339 | #13 |
| 1956 | 19,341 | #19 |
| 1955 | 19,114 | #18 |
| 1954 | 19,609 | #18 |
| 1953 | 20,122 | #18 |
| 1952 | 21,439 | #15 |
| 1951 | 21,717 | #14 |
| 1950 | 20,799 | #14 |
| 1949 | 20,543 | #13 |
| 1948 | 17,700 | #17 |
| 1947 | 15,830 | #21 |
| 1946 | 12,690 | #24 |
| 1945 | 9,203 | #29 |
| 1944 | 8,999 | #30 |
| 1943 | 8,435 | #35 |
| 1942 | 7,241 | #40 |
| 1941 | 6,332 | #41 |
| 1940 | 5,442 | #42 |
| 1939 | 2,756 | #86 |
| 1938 | 676 | #244 |
| 1937 | 233 | #423 |
| 1936 | 163 | #511 |
| 1935 | 132 | #556 |
| 1934 | 106 | #652 |
| 1933 | 90 | #683 |
| 1932 | 95 | #694 |
| 1931 | 66 | #844 |
| 1930 | 63 | #916 |
| 1929 | 60 | #922 |
| 1928 | 54 | #1,015 |
| 1927 | 47 | #1,108 |
| 1926 | 55 | #1,004 |
| 1925 | 58 | #976 |
| 1924 | 44 | #1,188 |
| 1923 | 43 | #1,174 |
| 1922 | 44 | #1,160 |
| 1921 | 32 | #1,437 |
| 1920 | 32 | #1,407 |
| 1919 | 30 | #1,423 |
| 1918 | 28 | #1,497 |
| 1917 | 18 | #1,922 |
| 1916 | 23 | #1,581 |
| 1915 | 20 | #1,672 |
| 1914 | 15 | #1,740 |
| 1913 | 12 | #1,766 |
| 1912 | 17 | #1,297 |
| 1911 | 9 | #1,656 |
| 1910 | 8 | #1,773 |
| 1909 | 0 | – |
| 1908 | 7 | #1,676 |
| 1907 | 0 | – |
| 1906 | 0 | – |
| 1905 | 8 | #1,419 |
| 1904 | 6 | #1,658 |
| 1903 | 5 | #1,791 |
| 1902 | 0 | – |
| 1901 | 6 | #1,466 |
| 1900 | 0 | – |
| 1899 | 0 | – |
| 1898 | 0 | – |
| 1897 | 7 | #1,263 |
Names like Brenda
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Cara, Keira, Erin, Ffion, Diana, Brianna, Jessica, Darla, Lara, Bridget, Holly, Francesca
Names related to Brenda
Sources
Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.
To cite this page: Nameling, “Brenda: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/brenda, updated 20 October 2026.