Brendan
Featured in baby name books
Brendan is an old Celtic name meaning “prince,” which came to Ireland from a Welsh word in early monastic times. Brendan is also read as “little raven.” Saint Brendan the Voyager, a sixth-century monk from Kerry, became legendary for sea voyages, with tales claiming he reached America. Famous Brendans include playwright Brendan Behan, writer Brendan Gill, and actor Brendan Fraser.
Sources: 10,000 Baby Names, 1,107 Baby Names That Stand the Test of Time, Baby Names (Laura Emerson), Baby Names Made Easy, The Best Baby Names for Boys, Irish Names for Children, Baby Names Your Child Can Live With, The Everything Baby Names Book, Numerology for Baby Names
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Usage of Brendan in different languages / cultures
The list below was created by gathering names from various sources for different languages, and then matching Brendan against each list of names.
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Albanian
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Arabic
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Armenian
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Bengali
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Bulgarian
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Catalan
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Chinese
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Cornish
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Croatian
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Czech
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Danish
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Dothraki
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Dutch
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English
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Estonian
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Filipino
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Finnish
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French
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Georgian
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German
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Greek
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Hawaiian
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Hebrew
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Hindi
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Hungarian
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Icelandic
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Indonesian
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Irish
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Italian
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Japanese
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Khmer
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Klingon
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Korean
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Latin
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Latvian
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Lithuanian
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Macedonian
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Norwegian
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Persian
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Polish
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Portuguese
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Romanian
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Russian
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Scottish
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Serbian
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Slovak
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Slovenian
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Spanish
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Swahili
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Swedish
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Telugu
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Thai
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Turkish
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Ukrainian
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Vietnamese
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Welsh
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Yiddish
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Yoruba
Note: In some cases it is possible for the check mark to be missing even if Brendan is used in a particular country, as almost no source name list has 100% coverage.
Brendan in official name statistics
United States
In 2025, 195 boys were named Brendan, making it the #1097 boys' name in the US. Since 1912, 91,816 boys have been named Brendan, with the most (3,995) in 1999. It is most common, relative to births, in Connecticut, Illinois and Virginia.
Source: Social Security Administration baby name data, 1880–2025. Names given to fewer than 5 babies in a year are not listed.
Other countries
| Where | Rank | Count | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ireland | #402 boys | 9 | Central Statistics Office (CSO), 2025 |
| Northern Ireland (English-speaking) | #344 boys | 4 | Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA), 2025 |
| Northern Ireland (Irish-speaking) | #344 boys | 4 | Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA), 2025 |
| Scotland | #647 boys | 4 | National Records of Scotland (NRS), 2025 |
Counts are babies born that year, or living people for "all ages" rows, as published by each country's statistics office or population register.
Brendan in other languages
- Brandan Catalan, English
- Brand English
- Branden English
Source: Wikidata (CC0).
Storms named Brendan
Tropical storms, hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones that have been named Brendan, newest first.
| Storm | Year | Ocean | Peak wind |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tropical storm Brendan | 1994 | Western Pacific | 93 km/h |
| Typhoon Brendan (Category 1) | 1991 | Western Pacific | 130 km/h |
| Tropical storm Brendan | 1991 | Western Pacific | – |
| Typhoon Brendan (Category 2) | 1985 | Western Pacific | 167 km/h |
Source: IBTrACS, NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Peak wind is the highest sustained wind recorded for the storm.
Towns named Brendan
There are 4 towns and villages with Brendan in their name, in 4 countries.
🇨🇦 Canada 1🇮🇪 Ireland 1🇺🇸 United States 1🇿🇦 South Africa 1
| Name | Where | Population | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brendan Village | Mpumalanga, 🇿🇦 South Africa | – | Map |
| Brendan Wood | Indiana, 🇺🇸 United States | – | Map |
| Saint Brendan’s | Connacht, 🇮🇪 Ireland | – | Map |
| St. Brendan's | Newfoundland and Labrador, 🇨🇦 Canada | – | Map |
Source: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). Maps: OpenStreetMap.
Lakes named Brendan
There are 1 lakes and reservoirs with Brendan in their name.
| Name | Where | |
|---|---|---|
| Lac Brendan | Quebec, 🇨🇦 Canada | Map |
Source: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). Maps: OpenStreetMap.
Brendan songs
3 songs and musical works on Wikidata have Brendan in their title. The best known:
- Brendan's Death Song – Red Hot Chili Peppers (2012)
- St. Brendan's Voyage
- St. Brendan's – Peter Scholtes (1966)
Song data: Wikidata (CC0), ordered by how widely each song is covered on Wikipedia.
Celebrities named Brendan
Based on celebrities listed on Wikipedia, filtered to only those with the first name Brendan.
Brendan Burke
Brendan Cusack
Brendan Fehr
Brendan Fevola
See more...
Fictional characters named Brendan
Characters from films and TV series, from Wikidata, ordered by how widely they are covered on Wikipedia.
Character data: Wikidata (CC0). Images: Wikimedia Commons; click an image for its author and licence.
Brendan products
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