How common is the surname Brian?

4,214 people in the United States had the surname Brian in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 73,267 Americans. It ranked 7,854th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Brian?

Mary Brian, American actress (1906–2002), followed by Havergal Brian.

Where is the surname Brian most common?

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

How do you pronounce Brian?

Brian is /ˈbɹaɪ.ən/, 2 syllables.

Is the surname Brian getting more or less common?

More common. 4,190 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 4,214 in 2010, up 0.6%.

Is Brian also a first name?

Yes. Brian is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.

The surname Brian

An Irish surname, carried by 4,214 people in the United States.

Pronounced /ˈbɹaɪ.ən/ 2 syllables Soundex B650 Also a first name

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Brian is more common than 95.2% of them.

Origin

Irish origin

Borrowed from Irish Brian. Doublet of Brendan.

One of 880 Irish surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 4,214 people named Brian in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 73,267 Americans. That is up 0.6% since 2000, when the Census counted 4,190.

#7,854

rank among US surnames

4,214

people in 2010

1.4

per 100,000 Americans

+0.6%

change since 2000 (was #7,327)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#7,849	Bloodworth	4,218	73,197
#7,851	Pompa	4,217	73,214
#7,852	Roseberry	4,215	73,249
#7,854	Brian	4,214	73,267
#7,856	Seltzer	4,213	73,284

Who is named Brian

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

83% of people named Brian identified as white (not Hispanic), 6.6% as Black (not Hispanic) and 4.8% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

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

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Brians

3 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

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

Notable Brians come mostly from the United States (2) and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Variant spellings

Bryan
Bryon

Surnames that sound like Brian

Brian has the Soundex code B650, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code B650.

Other Irish surnames

All 880 Irish surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Brian come from?: Borrowed from Irish Brian. Doublet of Brendan.
How common is the surname Brian?: 4,214 people in the United States had the surname Brian in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 73,267 Americans. It ranked 7,854th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Brian?: In the 2010 Census, 83% of people named Brian identified as white (not Hispanic), and 6.6% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Brian?: Mary Brian, American actress (1906–2002), followed by Havergal Brian.
Where is the surname Brian most common?: Wikidata records people named Brian in the United States and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
How do you pronounce Brian?: Brian is /ˈbɹaɪ.ən/, 2 syllables.
Is the surname Brian getting more or less common?: More common. 4,190 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 4,214 in 2010, up 0.6%.
What are other spellings of Brian?: Bryan and Bryon.
Is Brian also a first name?: Yes. Brian is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.