Breandan: Meaning, Pronunciation and Origin
Breandan is an Irish boy's name made famous by St. Breandan the Navigator. Here’s how to say it, where it comes from, and names that go well with it.
Updated September 2026
- Irish spelling
- Breandán
- Gender
- Boy
- English forms
- Brendan, Brandan, Brandon
How do you pronounce Breandan?
Breandan is pronounced BREN-dawn. It has two syllables, with the stress on the first.
What does Breandan mean?
There are at least seventeen saints who bear the name but St. Breandan the Navigator is probably the best known. Tradition has it that he was born in County Kerry, set sail in a small boat with a group of monks in the early 6th century, visited an island inhabited by birdmen, rode on the back of a whale and was the first European to set foot on the shores of the Americas, nearly a thousand years before Columbus. In the 1970s Tim Severin recreated St. Breandan’s voyage across the Atlantic Ocean in a flimsy, hide-covered rowboat known as a “curragh.” St. Breandan is venerated in Ireland as the patron saint of seafarers and travellers.
How popular is Breandan in Ireland?
Breandan wasn't in the 2025 tables, which list names given to at least three babies. It was last recorded in 2018, when 4 baby boys got the name. It was most popular in 1978, when 5 baby boys were named Breandan, No. 255 that year. It first appears in the records in 1978, with 5 baby boys.
See the numbers by year
| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 4 | No. 635 (Breandán) |
| 1995 | 3 | No. 334 (Breandan) |
| 1994 | 4 | No. 299 (Breandan) |
| 1992 | 3 | No. 337 (Breandan) |
| 1987 | 3 | No. 303 (Breandan) |
| 1983 | 3 | No. 330 (Breandan) |
| 1981 | 4 | No. 292 (Breandan) |
| 1980 | 3 | No. 321 (Breandan) |
| 1978 | 5 | No. 255 (Breandan) |
Breandan in Ogham
Ogham is the oldest way of writing Irish. It was carved along the edges of standing stones, mostly between the 4th and 6th centuries, and read from the bottom up. In later tradition each letter was named after a tree or plant. Here’s Breandan, letter by letter.
- BBeith, birch
- RRuis, elder
- EEadhadh, aspen
- AAilm, pine
- NNion, ash
- DDair, oak
- AAilm, pine
- NNion, ash
Write any name in Ogham with our Ogham translator
Names that go with Breandan
Questions about Breandan
- How do you pronounce Breandan?
- Breandan is pronounced BREN-dawn. Two syllables, stress on the first.
- Is Breandan a girl's name or a boy's name?
- Breandan is a boy's name.
- How do you spell Breandan in Irish?
- In Irish it's spelled Breandán. That's the spelling most parents in Ireland now register, according to the Central Statistics Office.
- What is Breandan in English?
- The English forms of Breandan are Brendan, Brandan and Brandon.