Brendan vs Cal

Brendan and Calcompared on official birth-registration statistics and Namewise's recorded data. This page states what each name's record shows — it never picks a winner or scores one name against the other.

Head to head

Ranks are only compared within one published list and one year. Two ranks from different years, from a boys' and a girls' list, or from different registrars are not comparable, so they are not placed side by side.

Northern Ireland · Boys
In 2024, Brendan was ranked #404 and Cal #305 among boys in Northern Ireland.
Republic of Ireland · Boys
In 2025, Brendan was ranked #402 and Cal #509 among boys in Republic of Ireland.
England and Wales · Boys
In 2024, Brendan was ranked #1402 and Cal #2263 among boys in England and Wales.

Brendan and Cal over time

Brendan and Cal appear together in 3 published lists, across 68 years of shared records. Brendan held the stronger position in more years in 3 of them, Cal in 0.

The order between them changed and held in one of those lists — a change in that published list, never a claim that one name displaced the other.

Brendan reached its own highest recorded position earlier in 3 of those lists, and Cal in none. Each position is a place inside its own list, so this compares when they peaked and never how high.

Counted list by list. Two names in the same published list are measured on the same scale in the same year, so those comparisons are real — but positions from different lists are not, so nothing here is combined into an overall standing.

List by list

England and Wales · Boys27 shared years, 1996–2024
Brendan held the stronger position in 27 of those years, Cal in 0.
Highest recorded here: Brendan #157 in 1998, Cal #1188 in 2003.
The order between them never changed and held in this list.
Most recent shared year, 2024: Brendan #1402, Cal #2263.
Republic of Ireland · Boys27 shared years, 1987–2025
Brendan held the stronger position in 27 of those years, Cal in 0.
Highest recorded here: Brendan #36 in 1987, Cal #261 in 1997.
The order between them never changed and held in this list.
Most recent shared year, 2025: Brendan #402, Cal #509.
Northern Ireland · Boys14 shared years, 1997–2024
Brendan held the stronger position in 12 of those years, Cal in 1.
Highest recorded here: Brendan #73 in 1997, Cal #244 in 2000.
The order changed in 2023: Cal moved ahead. In 2022 they stood at #279 and #363; by 2023 that had become #395 and #395.
Most recent shared year, 2024: Brendan #404, Cal #305.

Two names moving past each other in a ranking is a fact about the ranking. Namewise does not claim one name displaced the other, that families chose between them, or that either influenced the other — none of that is in this data.

Where to go next

Comparisons that share a name, a rule or a published list with this one. Each is an existing comparison page with its own evidence — nothing here says these pairs are alike.

Other comparisons involving Brendan

Pairs where Brendan shares a published list with another name, each measured inside one registrar's own list.

Oisin vs Brendan
In 1997 they stood at #81 and #73 in Northern Ireland · Boys, 8 places apart; by 2024 they were #9 and #404.
Oisin · Brendan · 28 shared years, 1997–2024 · Started together, ended far apart
See the 2024 Northern Ireland ranking
David vs Brendan
In 1964 they stood at #7 and #17 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, 10 places apart; by 2025 they were #45 and #402.
David · Brendan · 62 shared years, 1964–2025 · Started together, ended far apart
See the 2025 Republic of Ireland ranking
Brendan vs Shea
In 1997 they stood at #73 and #70 in Northern Ireland · Boys, 3 places apart; by 2024 they were #404 and #51.
Brendan · Shea · 28 shared years, 1997–2024 · Started together, ended far apart
See the 2024 Northern Ireland ranking
Joseph vs Brendan
In 1964 they stood at #11 and #17 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, 6 places apart; by 2025 they were #64 and #402.
Joseph · Brendan · 62 shared years, 1964–2025 · Started together, ended far apart
See the 2025 Republic of Ireland ranking

Side by side

Side-by-side comparison of Brendan, Cal
Field	Brendan	Cal
Record type	Official statistical record (evidence-only)	Official statistical record (evidence-only)
Gender usage	male	male
Meaning	Not yet recorded	Not yet recorded
Origin	Not yet recorded	Not yet recorded
Pronunciation	Not yet recorded	Not yet recorded
Syllables	2	1
Common variants / nicknames	Not yet recorded	Not yet recorded
Recorded regional usage	AU-NSW, GB-ENW, GB-NIR, GB-SCT, IE, NZ	GB-ENW, GB-NIR, IE
Most recent popularity observation	Republic of Ireland · Boys #402 (2025)	Republic of Ireland · Boys #509 (2025)
Pronunciation clarity (demonstration score)	Not yet recorded	Not yet recorded
Spelling simplicity (demonstration score)	82/100	95/100
International familiarity (demonstration score)	100/100	100/100
Data Confidence	medium	medium

What the data shows

Brendan has 2 syllables, compared with 1 for Cal.
Both names have recorded usage in GB-ENW, GB-NIR, IE.

How each name got here

Brendan

Popularity journey

First recorded1964
First recorded at #17 among boys in Republic of Ireland in 1964 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
Republic of Ireland · Boys
Highest recorded1964–2025
Highest recorded position: #16 among boys in Republic of Ireland, in 1965 (recorded 1964–2025).
Republic of Ireland · Boys
Most recent2025
Most recently recorded at #402 among boys in Republic of Ireland, in 2025.
Republic of Ireland · Boys

Cal

Popularity journey

First recorded1987
First recorded at #303 among boys in Republic of Ireland in 1987 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
Republic of Ireland · Boys
Highest recorded1997–2024
Highest recorded position: #244 among boys in Northern Ireland, in 2000 (recorded 1997–2024).
Northern Ireland · Boys
Most recent2025
Most recently recorded at #509 among boys in Republic of Ireland, in 2025.
Republic of Ireland · Boys