Brandon

Brandon began as an English place name — from the Old English brom (broom, the yellow-flowering shrub) and dun (hill) — a gorse-covered rise somewhere in the medieval countryside. For a time it was entirely a surname. Then the 1970s turned it loose as a first name, and by the late 80s and 90s it had climbed into the American top ten, powered in part by Beverly Hills, 90210's Brandon Walsh and a generation of parents who wanted something sturdier than Brian but softer than Brendan. It has eased down the charts since but retains its easy, open-shirt charm.