Gender Masculine
Pronounced Pron. BRAN(Welsh)  [key·IPA]

Meaning & History

Means "raven" in Welsh. According to the Second Branch of the Mabinogi [1], Brân the Blessed (called Bendigeidfran) was a giant king of Britain. He was the son of the divine figure Llŷr. After his sister Branwen was mistreated by her husband the Irish king Matholwch, Brân led an attack on Ireland (the text says that he was so big he was able to wade there). Although victorious, the British lost all except seven men with Brân being mortally wounded by a poisoned spear. He asked the survivors to cut of his head and return with it to Britain. The head continued to speak for many years until it was buried in London.

Related Names

VariantBran
Other Languages & CulturesBran(Irish) Bran(Irish Mythology) Bran(Old Irish)
Same SpellingBran 1, Bran 2
User SubmissionBran

Categories

Sources & References

Entry updated January 21, 2022