Baby name

Brenda

Girl

Origin of the name

Brenda is usually linked to the Old Norse brandr, “sword.” Walter Scott gave it to a heroine of his novel The Pirate (1822).

Short-lived name

1957 was its best year: 24,339 births, or 1 baby in 173. The decline was steep: births are now 99% below the peak. Its rank in 2025: No. 1525. 34% of all babies named Brenda since 1880 were born in the 1950s.

608,478births since 1880

1950sgeneration

No. 13rank at its peak, in 1957

Where babies named Brenda are born

1957

Year shown on the map

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The darker the blue, the more common Brenda is in the state, compared with its births. White: no births published that year.

Where it is most popular

Compared with the national average, Brenda is most common in West Virginia (2.2 times), Kentucky (1.9) and Tennessee (1.8), taking into account all births in each state since 1910.

One letter apart

Brenna 29,371
Brinda 2,155
Renda 1,191
Branda 1,102
Blenda 1,022

Names from the same era

Cynthia · Ann · Catherine · Julie · Debra · Karen

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