# McBrien (surname)

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

A surname from Irish.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | Irish |
| Type | patronymic, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 981 |
| US rank (2010) | 25,255 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 314,725 people |
| Change since 2000 | -2.0% (1,001 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

Anglicized form of Irish Mac Briain (“son of Brian”) or of Mac Brain (“son of Bran”), a personal name based on bran (“raven”).

## Who carries it

Share of people named McBrien 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) | 93% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.1% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 1.6% |
| Two or more races | 1.9% |

## Similar surnames

McBurney, McBreen, McBride, McIver, McBroom, McFarlin, McBrayer, McBryde, McFerrin, McGivern, McBrearty, McFarland.

## 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.