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 [ 2 syll. bren-da, br-e-nda ] The girl name Brenda is pronounced as BREHNDah KEY. Brenda is an English and Irish name of Old Norse origin. The name may be a short form of various compound names with the element 'brandr' (sword, torch). It is sometimes taken as the feminine form of the Old Irish Brendan, despite the difference in their origins. It was first used as a given name in the Shetland Isles of Scotland, and the usage spread to other English-speaking countries by the end of the 19th century, in part contributed by the name being used for a central character in Sir Walter Scott's novel The Pirate (1821), which is also set mainly in Shetland. The name later saw a boost in popularity from the US television series Beverly Hills 90210 (1990-2000), in which the characters Brenda and Brandon Walsh are twins. Brendell (English), Brendette (English), Brendie (English), Brendyl (English), Brenna (English), Brinda (English), and Labrenda (English) are forms of Brenda. Brenn (pet form in English), Bren (short form in English), and Brendah (spelling variant in English) are other forms of the name. See also the related forms, Brandt (English and Scandinavian) and Brendan (English and Irish). Brenda is rather popular as a baby girl name. The name's popularity grew from the 1920s up to the 1950s. At the height of its usage in 1950, 1.184% of baby girls were named Brenda. It had a ranking of #14 then. The baby name has seen a marked fall in popularity since then. In 2008, its usage was only 0.046% and its ranking #342, but it was nevertheless the most popular within all girl names in its family. In 2008, Brenda was 26% more frequently used than the subsequent ranked name, Brenna (English). Brenda has mainly been a girl name, though in the last century it has also been used for boys. There were 275 times as many girls than boys who were named Brenda in 1965. Baby names that sound like Brenda include Brendah (English), Bernadett (French), Bernette (English and French), Branda (English), Brandee (English), Brandei (English), Brandi (English), Brandie (English), Brandii (English), Brandy (English), Brandye (English), Branndie (English), Brendette (English), Brendie (English), Briand (English), Brinda (English), Bronte, Brunette (English), Bernadet (English), and Bernadette (English and French). A famous person named Brenda is Cartoon Character, Brenda Starr, born 30 June 1940. KEY: Pronunciation for Brenda: B as in "be (B.IY)" ; R as in "read (R.IY.D)" ; EH as in "Ed (EH.D)" ; N as in "knee (N.IY)" ; D as in "dee (D.IY)" ; AH as in "hut (HH.AH.T)"   |
