How Many People Are Named Brenda?
An estimated 446,636 people in the United States have the first name Brenda. While not in the top 50, it remains a well-known name ranking #96 overall. It is almost exclusively a female name. The average bearer is 62 years old, and Brenda peaked in popularity in 1957 with 24,394 births that year. It has a similar number of bearers to Carol (445,676).
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Brenda 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 Brenda paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Brenda is overwhelmingly female, 2,120 male births have been registered with this name since 1880.
- Brenda has fallen dramatically from its peak in the 1950s. Recent registrations are less than 5% of what they were at the name's height.
Estimated Living Americans
446,636
About 1 in 767 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Common
Predicted Gender
Female
99.7% confidence
Average Age
62
years old
Peak Year
1957
24,394 births
Total Registered
610,451
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Brenda
Brenda is almost exclusively a female name. Out of 610,451 total births registered, 99.7% were female.
Brenda as a male name
Ranked #12,613 in 2007
5 male births in 2007
Peak: 1961 (72 births)
Brenda as a female name
Ranked #1,139 in 2024
212 female births in 2024
Peak: 1957 (24,338 births)
Brenda: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Brenda span from the 1890s to the 2020s, covering 14 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1950s, when 209,691 babies were registered. Brenda has declined significantly from its peak in the 1950s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Brenda by Decade
How has Brenda 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.
| Decade | Total | Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1890s | 7 | 0 | 7 | |
| 1900s | 32 | 0 | 32 | |
| 1910s | 180 | 0 | 180 | |
| 1920s | 469 | 0 | 469 | |
| 1930s | 4,399 | 19 | 4,380 | |
| 1940s | 112,723 | 309 | 112,414 | |
| 1950s | 209,691 | 448 | 209,243 | |
| 1960s | 165,007 | 511 | 164,496 | |
| 1970s | 48,800 | 207 | 48,593 | |
| 1980s | 24,504 | 358 | 24,146 | |
| 1990s | 25,156 | 227 | 24,929 | |
| 2000s | 14,387 | 41 | 14,346 | |
| 2010s | 4,141 | 0 | 4,141 | |
| 2020s | 955 | 0 | 955 | |
Brenda by State
Birth registrations for Brenda span all 51 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in California, Texas, North Carolina. The lowest are in Alaska, Wyoming, Hawaii. On average, about 11,890 Brendas were registered per state.
Brenda + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Brenda as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Brenda
Other first names starting with B with a similar number of bearers.
Brenda: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Brenda?
We estimate approximately 446,636 people named Brenda 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 767 Americans share this first name.
Is Brenda a common name?
Brenda is classified as "Common" and is more popular than 99.9% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 610,451 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Brenda most popular?
Brenda reached peak popularity in 1957, when 24,394 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Brenda is approximately 62 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Brenda a female name?
Brenda is predominantly female. 99.7% of people with this name are female. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Brenda Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Brenda Smith, Brenda Johnson, Brenda 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.
Search for a full name combination
How Many of Me