Brenda

//ˈbɹɛndə// name

name ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A female given name.

    "We have already mentioned Minna and Brenda, the daughters of Magnus Troil. Their mother had been dead for many years, and they were now two beautiful girls"

  2. 2
    Queen Elizabeth II. UK, humorous

    "There is a widespread belief that Brenda plays no part in politics. This is not entirely true. For instance, she has very strong feelings on Rhodesia."

  3. 3
    A former rural municipality of Manitoba.

Example

More examples

"Brenda is a big-shot industrialist, but she's very down-to-earth at heart."

Etymology

Possibly from Old Norse brandr (“sword”); by folk etymology seen as a feminine form of Brendan. Its use as a nickname for Queen Elizabeth II originated in Private Eye in reaction to a perceived attempt by the royals to appear less distant and upper class.

Related phrases

Brenda-Waskada

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.