UK boy's name
Brendon
A Celtic/Welsh masculine name meaning "prince" or "heir, son of nobility".
For 2026, the newest official UK baby-name figures on this page are from 2024. That release is the current official benchmark rather than a forecast.
Brendon is a boy's name in the UK records. People looking for Brendon popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2024 in this profile. In that release it ranked #2921, with 7 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 1998, with 64 births.
This profile covers 884 England and Wales registrations across 29 recorded years from 1996 to 2024. The figures come from ONS England and Wales and NRS Scotland, so the page is a view of published baby-name registrations rather than a forecast or a live count of people using the name today.
The latest count is about 11% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.
We estimate that about 916 living people in the UK are called Brendon. This uses published birth registrations from England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, then applies ONS national life tables to estimate how many are likely still alive. It does not forecast extra births for 2025 or 2026.
Key insights
- • Brendon ranked #2921 for boys in England and Wales in 2024, with 7 registrations.
- • The name peaked in 1998, when 64 boys were registered as Brendon.
- • Brendon ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #638 in 2010.
- • About 916 living people in the UK are estimated to have Brendon as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.
Latest rank (E&W)
#2921
2024
Births in 2024
7
Latest year
Peak year
1998
64 births
Estimated living
916
2026
Meaning
What does Brendon mean?
The name Brendon is derived from the Old Irish name Brénaind, which itself comes from the Celtic words "bren" meaning "prince" or "chief" and the suffix "-ind" meaning "man" or "person." The name can be traced back to the 5th century in Ireland and the British Isles.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with this name was Saint Brendan the Navigator, an Irish monk who lived from around 484 to 577 AD. He is famous for his legendary journey across the Atlantic Ocean, which some historians believe may have reached the shores of North America centuries before the Vikings.
Another notable figure was Brendon Gallacher, a 6th-century Welsh king who ruled the kingdom of Ergyng in present-day South Wales. He is mentioned in several medieval Welsh manuscripts and is remembered for his military victories against the Anglo-Saxons.
In the 9th century, Brendon of Clonfert was an Irish priest and monastic founder who established several monasteries in Ireland and Scotland. He is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church and his feast day is celebrated on November 29th.
During the Middle Ages, the name Brendon gained popularity among the Norman nobility in England and France. One prominent example was Brendon de Harcourt, a Norman knight who fought alongside William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastings in 1066.
In more recent history, Brendon Fletcher was a Canadian actor and musician who starred in several films and television shows, including "The Revenant" and "Freddy vs. Jason." He was born in 1981 and tragically passed away in 2020 at the age of 39.
Sourced from namecensus.com.
Popularity
Brendon over time
The chart below shows babies named Brendon registered in England and Wales in the years where the name appears in the published records, from 1996 to 2024. Empty years are left out so rare names are not stretched across long periods where the published files do not show any registrations.
For Brendon, the clearest high point is 1998. The latest England and Wales figure is 7 births in 2024, compared with 64 at the peak.
Babies born per year
Decades
Brendon by decade
Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Brendon was a short-lived spike or a name that stayed in regular use. Average rank is calculated only from years where a published rank exists.
| Decade | Average rank | Total births | Years covered |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020s | #2875 | 37 | 5 |
| 2010s | #1685 | 171 | 10 |
| 2000s | #592 | 456 | 10 |
| 1990s | #406 | 220 | 4 |
Geography
Where Brendon is most common
The bars show the latest published local birth counts for Brendon. They are useful for spotting where the name is showing up in real numbers, while the rank beside each bar shows how strongly it performs inside that region.
Brendon ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #638 in 2010.
Across the UK
Brendon in Scotland and Northern Ireland
Scotland (NRS)
#638 in 2010
10 years of NRS records, 41 total registered
Notable bearers
Famous people named Brendon
-
Brendon Fearon
drug trafficker
British criminal (bleak house burglar)
2000-
-
Brendon Leigh
British racing driver
1999-
-
Brendon Daniels
association football player
Footballer (born 1993)
1993-
-
Brendon Polyblank
basketball player; basketball coach
New Zealand basketball player
1978-
-
Brendon Batson
association football player
English footballer (born 1953)
1953-
-
Brendon Grimshaw
naturalist; philanthropist
1925-2012
Related
Names similar to Brendon
- Benjamin 90,412
- Ben 36,356
- Bradley 30,230
- Brandon 26,411
- Billy 18,608
- Bobby 16,904
- Blake 16,337
- Bailey 16,014
- Brody 7,230
- Beau 6,722
- Barnaby 5,284
- Brodie 4,801
FAQ
Brendon: questions and answers
How popular is the name Brendon in the UK right now?
In 2024, Brendon was ranked #2921 for boys in England and Wales, with 7 births registered.
When was Brendon most popular?
The peak year on record was 1998, with 64 babies registered as Brendon in England and Wales.
What is the meaning and origin of Brendon?
A Celtic/Welsh masculine name meaning "prince" or "heir, son of nobility".
How many people are called Brendon in the UK?
A total of 884 babies have been registered as Brendon across the 29 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here, plus 41 more in Scotland.
Where is Brendon most common?
In the latest published local rankings, Brendon ranks best in Scotland, where it placed #638 in 2010. The regional bars on this page use birth counts, so they also reflect the size of each region.
Which records is this page based on?
The England and Wales timeline uses ONS baby-name records. Scotland figures come from NRS and Northern Ireland figures come from NISRA. Counts are registrations in published baby-name files. The living estimate uses those birth registrations with ONS national life tables.