Brennan as a Baby Name. Meaning and Origin of Brennan

What is the meaning of the name Brennan ?

The baby name Brennan is a Male name , 2 syllables long and is pronounced BREN-ən (IPA: /ˈbrɛnən/).

Brennan is Irish in Origin.

Brennan is an Irish surname-turned-given name deriving from the Gaelic Ó Braonáin and, in some families, Ó Branáin. Braonán is a diminutive of braon (“drop, tear; moisture”), yielding the sense “little drop” and, by extension, “sorrow” or “teardrop.” Branán comes from bran (“raven”), giving the evocative “little raven.” Both strains are long-established in Ireland, particularly in Kilkenny and Kerry, and were anglicized as Brennan under English administration.

As a first name, Brennan gained currency in the Anglophone world in the mid- to late 20th century, buoyed by Irish heritage naming trends, and peaked in U.S. charts in the 1990s–2000s. Standard variants and spellings include Brennen, Brennon, Brannon, and O’Brennan as a surname form; Brenna appears as a feminine counterpart. Short forms include Bren. Related but distinct is Brendan, from Bréanainn, with a separate origin. Brennan is chiefly masculine but sometimes used unisex.