Brandon, a surname-turned-given-name, is derived from a place name meaning "hill covered with broom" in Old English. It first appeared in the Social Security Administration's top 1,000 for boy names in 1950 before debuting in the top 100 two decades later. It cracked the top 20 for the first time in 1981 and the top 10 for the first time in 1992. This rise could be attributed to Brandon Walsh, a character played by actor Jason Priestley in the hit TV series "Beverly Hills, 90210," which debuted in 1990. Brandon has fallen back in recent years, but remains a top 250 baby boy's name and consistently outperforms its close relative Brendan.
