Braden
Torn between Braden and another name? Compare them side by side →
Meaning
from the Irish surname O Bradain, 'descendant of Bradan', Bradan meaning salmon
The story
Braden descends from the Irish surname O Bradain, descendant of Bradan, and Bradan means salmon, the fish of wisdom in Irish story, the one that ate the hazelnuts of knowledge and passed enlightenment up the food chain. That gives this thoroughly modern-sounding name an ancient and slightly delicious secret. Trace use from the 1940s turns into a climb through the 1990s and a peak in the 2000s, when the -aden rhyme family, Aiden, Jayden, Caden, Hayden, ruled the American nursery. It has eased along with its rhyming cohort. Braden holds a better claim than most of that family: while the others were assembled fresh from popular sounds, this one walked in wearing a real surname and quietly carrying the fish of knowledge.
How popular is Braden around the world?
In the United States, 1,316 babies were named Braden between 2020 and 2025.
Braden is on the official records of the United States, South Australia, Canada and England and Wales.
United States
1 in 17,000
In the United States, 1,316 babies were named Braden between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Braden peaked in the 2000s.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
South Australia
1 in 18,0002017
In South Australia, 1 boy was registered as Braden in 2017.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Canada
1 in 37,000
In Canada, 10 boys named Braden were born in 2024, ranked 1,964th among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
England and Wales
1 in 120,000
In England and Wales, 5 boys named Braden were born in 2025, ranked 3,684th among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Argentina
last on record 2017
Braden is not on the 2024 record for Argentina, where small counts are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
Ireland
last on record 2016
Braden is not on the 2025 record for Ireland, where names under 3 in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 5 in a year, too few to chart.
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
New Zealand
last on record 2005
Braden is not on the 2025 record for New Zealand, where names under 10 in a year are excluded at source.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
Scotland
last on record 2020
Braden is not on the 2024 record for Scotland, where spellings under 3 in total are suppressed at source.
The count never rose above 5 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
Not on the record in Spain, Mexico City, Puerto Rico and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Montevideo record for 1940 to 2011: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years. Not on the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Austria record for 1984 to 2025: Statistik Austria publishes every first name down to a single birth, so this name was not given there in those years (before 2010 the record covers babies with Austrian citizenship only). Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Braden
Most people given the name Braden in the United States are teenagers or young adults today.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Braden deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Braden truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Braden fits with your family’s names and surname.
Does Braden fit YOUR family?
nametree reads your family’s names and finds the ones that belong. Free, private, no ads.
Add Braden to your family’s tree →