# Brian (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/brian/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | Irish |
| Type | not recorded |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 4,214 |
| US rank (2010) | 7,854 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 73,267 people |
| Change since 2000 | +0.6% (4,190 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ˈbɹaɪ.ən/, 2 syllables |
| Variant spellings | Bryan, Bryon |

## Etymology

Borrowed from Irish Brian. Doublet of Brendan.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Brian in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 83% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 6.6% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 4.8% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 2.3% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 1.2% |
| Two or more races | 2.2% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Brian in the United States and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

## People named Brian

- Mary Brian, American actress (1906–2002)
- Havergal Brian, British composer (1876–1972)
- Frank Brian, American basketball player (1923-2017)

## Similar surnames

Braun, Baran, Brann, Brien, Brun, Beran, Brawn, Bran, Brain, Berrian, Brion, Briney.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.