There are two different schools of thought as to where the name Brandon has originated from; The first is a a variant of the Irish name Brendan which comes from the Gaellic Breand°n, meaning Prince. The second claim is that it is a variant of the surname Branton derived from the Old English words Brom, referring to a broom or brushwood and Dun meaning hill. Your surname would usually be indicative of the place you were from or the job you performed in the village, so if your surname was Branton, it would most likely mean you hailed from near the brushwood or broom hill.
Brandon has been in use as a first name since the nineteenth century, and has enjoyed popularity mainly as a boys name but has been used for girls as well. It gained popularity during the 1940s, the iconic status and cool persona of the actor Marlon Brando was believed to have been an influence. At the height of its popularity in the mid 1980s over one and a half per cent of baby boys were called Brandon. Aaron Spellings hit adolescent soap opera Beverley Hills 90210, whose lead character Brandon Walsh, played by teenage heart throb Jason Priestley is also likely to have been a factor. Other famous Brandons include Superstar Disc Jockey Brandon Block and Jackass contributor Bam Margera, whose real name is Brandon Cole Margera.
Brandon has been in use as a first name since the nineteenth century, and has enjoyed popularity mainly as a boys name but has been used for girls as well. It gained popularity during the 1940s, the iconic status and cool persona of the actor Marlon Brando was believed to have been an influence. At the height of its popularity in the mid 1980s over one and a half per cent of baby boys were called Brandon. Aaron Spellings hit adolescent soap opera Beverley Hills 90210, whose lead character Brandon Walsh, played by teenage heart throb Jason Priestley is also likely to have been a factor. Other famous Brandons include Superstar Disc Jockey Brandon Block and Jackass contributor Bam Margera, whose real name is Brandon Cole Margera.
