Brandon

What Brandon means

Means “broom shrub + hill, dune”

From Middle English Brandon, Brampdon, Bramdun, Bremedon, Bromdun, from Old English brōmdūn, from brōm (“broom shrub”) + dūn (“hill, dune”).

Source: Wiktionary, “Brandon” (revision 93669616), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Brandon?

US: Falling: down from #83 in 2015. England & Wales: Falling: down from #212 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 1985, when 29,304 boys got the name (#13 that year). First in the US records in 1914.

How common

• About 1 in 1,288 baby boys in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 6,973 baby boys in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 3,928 baby boys in Scotland in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in DE (1.7 per 1,000 boys), AL (1.63 per 1,000 boys), LA (1.52 per 1,000 boys) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed boys born in each state.

US vs UK

Brandon is #261 in the US and #822 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (boys). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 99.9+% of US babies named Brandon were boys.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

How to say it

Wiktionary only lists the US pronunciation so far.

IPA from Wiktionary.

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Brendan195 US · 16 E&W
• Brenton70 US
• Brendon48 US · 13 E&W
• Brenden43 US
• Branden35 US
• Brandyn11 US
• Brandan10 US
• Brendyn7 US

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

If you like Brandon

Boys

• Tyler#219“tiler”^*
• Ryan#99Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1985, with 29,905 babies; 3,532 in 2025
• Kyle#508“narrows”^*
• Dillon#929Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1992, with 5,062 babies; 253 in 2025
• Devin#548“fortuneteller”^*
• Mitchell#952Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1994, with 5,370 babies; 245 in 2025

For a sister

• Shelby#649Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1991, with 10,220 babies; 444 in 2025
• Taylor#403From the word “tailor”^*
• Kimberly#302Editor’s note Cooling off in the US: #108 in 2015, #302 in 2025
• Brooke#313Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1996, with 6,724 babies; 972 in 2025
• Paige#346possibly “servant”^*
• Kelly#851Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1977, with 18,234 babies; 319 in 2025

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under From a surname, whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Brandon’s. Rank is US 2025.