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 [ 2 syll. bren-dan, br-end-an ] The boy name Brendan is pronounced BREHNDahN KEY. Brendan is of Celtic origin. It is used mainly in English and Irish. The meaning of Brendan is 'prince'. Old forms of the name include Brendanus (Latinized) and Bréanainn (Old Irish). Alternative derivations of the name suggest the meaning 'stinking hair' or 'he who lives by the beacon'. The name was borne by the 6th-century Saint Brendan the Navigator, an early Irish monastic saint known for his semi-legendary quest to the Isle of the Blessed. Some believe that the isle he reached was actually America, and that he was thus the first to discover the continent. Variant forms of the name include the English Branden, the English Brandon, the English Brannon, the English Branon, the English and Irish Breandan, the Irish Breandán, the English and Irish Brennan, the English Brennen, the English Brennon, and the English Brenon. The short form Bren (English), and the spelling variants Brenden (English) and Brendon (English) are other forms of Brendan. See also the related form, the English and Irish Brenda. Brendan is popular as a baby boy name. The name has been rising in popularity since the 1940s. At the peak of its usage in 1999, 0.196% of baby boys were named Brendan. It was #96 in rank then. In 2008, it ranked at #207 with a usage of 0.086%, and it was the 2nd most popular after the English Brandon, out of all boy names in its family. It was 6 times more regularly used than Brendan in 2008. Baby names that sound like Brendan include the English Brenden, the English Brendon, the English Brandan, the English Branden, the English Brandon, the English Brandyn, the English Branton, the English Brentan, the English Brenten, the English Brenton, the English and Irish Breandan, the Irish Breandán, and the Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish Bernardino. A famous person named Brendan is Brendan Fraser, Actor, born 3 December 1968, Indianapolis, Indiana. KEY: Pronunciation for Brendan: 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)" ; N as in "knee (N.IY)"   |
