How Many People Are Named Brain?
An estimated 4,290 people in the United States have the first name Brain. It is almost exclusively a male name. The average bearer is 46 years old, and Brain peaked in popularity in 1982 with 189 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Brain as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Brain paired with any surname.
Estimated Living Americans
4,290
About 1 in 79,896 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Rare
Predicted Gender
Male
99.8% confidence
Average Age
46
years old
Peak Year
1982
189 births
Total Registered
4,606
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Brain
Brain is almost exclusively a male name. Out of 4,606 total births registered, 99.8% were male.
Brain as a male name
Ranked #10,962 in 2017
6 male births in 2017
Peak: 1982 (189 births)
Brain as a female name
Ranked #10,844 in 1985
5 female births in 1985
Peak: 1977 (5 births)
Brain: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Brain span from the 1950s to the 2010s, covering 7 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1970s, when 1,638 babies were registered. Brain has declined significantly from its peak in the 1970s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Brain by Decade
How has Brain tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
Brain by State
Birth registrations for Brain span all 29 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in California, New York, Illinois. The lowest are in Wisconsin, Kansas, Connecticut. On average, about 88 Brains were registered per state.
Brain + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Brain as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Brain
Other first names starting with B with a similar number of bearers.
Brain: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Brain?
We estimate approximately 4,290 people named Brain are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 79,896 Americans share this first name.
Is Brain a common name?
Brain is classified as "Rare" and is more popular than 96.2% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 4,606 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Brain most popular?
Brain reached peak popularity in 1982, when 189 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Brain is approximately 46 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Brain a male name?
Brain is predominantly male. 99.8% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Brain Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Brain Smith, Brain Johnson, Brain Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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