A modern spelling of Braden, from an Irish surname meaning broad or wide valley/hillside.
Braeden is one of several related spellings — Braden, Brayden, Bradyn — of a name with Old Irish roots. The most likely etymology traces to the Irish bradán, meaning 'salmon,' an animal of enormous symbolic weight in Celtic mythology. The salmon of knowledge appears in the legend of Finn mac Cumhaill: Finn accidentally tastes the Salmon of the Boyne while cooking it for his druid teacher, and in that instant absorbs all the wisdom in the world.
The salmon thus became an emblem of enlightenment, prescience, and the sacred — a fitting creature to carry a child's name. An alternative etymology points to a place-name origin: Bradden, Braden, or similar forms appear in English and Scottish geography, typically meaning 'broad valley' from Old English brad (broad) + denu (valley). Many surnames in the British Isles derive from such place names, and Braden eventually crossed from surname to given name in the 20th century, following the well-worn path of names like Logan, Mason, and Brady.
Both etymologies — the poetic salmon and the geographic valley — lend the name a spacious, natural feeling. Braeden as a given name saw a remarkable surge in the United States in the 1990s and 2000s, riding the wave of Celtic revival names alongside Aidan, Caden, Hayden, and Jayden. The 'ae' spelling distinguishes it visually from the more common Braden and Brayden, giving it a slightly more archaic or Irish-inflected appearance. It has gradually softened in usage as that particular naming trend crests, leaving behind a generation of Braedens who carry, perhaps unknowingly, the ancient gleam of a mythological fish.