This happens because of the way adjacent flexbox items position relative to each other.
One option is to use the flexbox utils, and a full width placeholder element on right. The navbar-brand is also set to full-width using w-100
util class.
<nav class="navbar navbar-toggleable navbar-inverse bg-primary justify-content-center">
<button class="navbar-toggler navbar-toggler-right" type="button" data-toggle="collapse" data-target="#navbarCenter">
<span class="navbar-toggler-icon"></span>
</button>
<a href class="navbar-brand d-flex w-100 mr-0">Brand is Wider Name</a>
<div class="navbar-collapse collapse" id="navbarCenter">
<ul class="navbar-nav mx-auto text-center">
<li class="nav-item">
<a class="nav-link" href="#">Link</a>
</li>
<li class="nav-item">
<a class="nav-link" href="#">Center</a>
</li>
<li class="nav-item">
<a class="nav-link" href="#">Link</a>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="d-flex w-100"> </div>
</nav>
http://www.codeply.com/go/N7veP8FMqg
Another option is to absolute position the .navbar-nav
..
@media (min-width: 567px) {
.abs-center-x {
position: absolute;
top: 5px;
left: 50%;
transform: translateX(-50%);
}
}
https://www.codeply.com/go/RCBftzZCD8
Related:
Bootstrap 4 menu toggle button to left and right, with brand in center
How the LOGO could be CENTERED and Not collapsing and toggle icon should appear on left in the Navbar?