# Brian (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/brian/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys |
| Origin | Irish |
| Meaning | not recorded |
| Pronunciation | /ˈbɹaɪ.ən/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | Bri |
| Variant spellings | Bryan, Bryon |
| US babies named this | 1,178,298 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 1,173,735 / 4,563 (0% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 2,818, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

Borrowed from Irish Brian. Doublet of Brendan.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 30 | 4,092 |
| 2001 | 16 | 6,670 |
| 2002 | 19 | 5,935 |
| 2003 | 20 | 5,849 |
| 2004 | 42 | 3,503 |
| 2005 | 24 | 5,296 |
| 2006 | 8 | 12,617 |
| 2007 | 23 | 5,930 |
| 2008 | 9 | 11,760 |
| 2009 | 6 | 15,578 |
| 2010 | 8 | 12,481 |
| 2011 | 5 | 17,217 |
| 2012 | 11 | 9,833 |
| 2013 | 5 | 16,996 |
| 2015 | 5 | 16,908 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 3,250 | 122 |
| 2012 | 2,820 | 141 |
| 2013 | 2,645 | 150 |
| 2014 | 2,536 | 168 |
| 2015 | 2,218 | 189 |
| 2016 | 1,984 | 204 |
| 2017 | 1,778 | 216 |
| 2018 | 1,631 | 235 |
| 2019 | 1,479 | 247 |
| 2020 | 1,261 | 271 |
| 2021 | 1,188 | 288 |
| 2022 | 1,180 | 289 |
| 2023 | 1,049 | 317 |
| 2024 | 1,116 | 302 |
| 2025 | 979 | 339 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 121 | 356 |
| 2012 | 111 | 378 |
| 2013 | 102 | 399 |
| 2014 | 108 | 378 |
| 2015 | 114 | 383 |
| 2016 | 105 | 406 |
| 2017 | 85 | 480 |
| 2018 | 91 | 449 |
| 2019 | 72 | 526 |
| 2020 | 61 | 587 |
| 2021 | 79 | 501 |
| 2022 | 83 | 480 |
| 2023 | 79 | 500 |
| 2024 | 71 | 538 |
| 2025 | 68 | 573 |

## In other languages

- Arabic: بْرَايَن
- Chinese: 布賴恩 /布赖恩, 布萊恩 /布莱恩
- Esperanto: Brajan
- Greek: Μπράιαν
- Icelandic: Brjánn
- Irish: Brian
- Japanese: ブライアン
- Korean: 브라이언
- Russian: Бра́йан
- Ukrainian: Бра́ян
- Vietnamese: Brai-ơn

## People named Brian

- Brian May, British musician (born 1947)
- Brian Schmidt, American-born Australian astrophysicist
- Brian De Palma, American film director and screenwriter
- Brian Wilson, American musician, singer, songwriter and record producer (1942–2025)
- Brian Eno, British musician, music producer, music theorist and visual artist (born 1948)
- Brian Kobilka, American physiologist
- Brian Jones, British musician (1942–1969)
- Brian Aldiss, British science fiction writer (1925–2017)
- Brian Greene, American physicist
- Brian Epstein, British personal manager and impresario (1934–1967)
- Brian Laudrup, Danish footballer (born 1969)
- Brian Clough, English football player and manager (1935–2004)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.