Nameling

Brian

Gender
Boy
Say it
BRY-an
Origin
Irish
UK rank, 2025
#476 for boys
US rank, 2025
#339 for boys

Brian is a boys' name of Irish origin. In 2025 it ranked 476th for boys in the UK (90 babies) and 339th for boys in the US (979 babies).

What does Brian mean?

Irish: probably from an old Celtic root

Brian Boru, High King of Ireland, was killed at the Battle of Clontarf in 1014.

More on Wiktionary.

Is Brian a girl's or a boy's name?

Brian is a boys' name. In 2025, it was given to 90 boys in the UK and 979 boys in the US. Too few girls were given it to be listed.

How popular is Brian in the UK?

Rank in 2025
#476among boys
Babies in 2025
90about 1 in 3,300 boys
Five-year trend
Steadyup 2% in five years
Same name in a class
under 1%chance among 15 boys

In 2025, 90 boys in the UK were named Brian, making it the 476th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 553rd. Its busiest year was 1997, with 190 boys.

Half of all the boys named Brian in the UK since 1996 were born between 2001 and 2015. It was already well used in 1996, when the records begin, so earlier boys aren't counted.

In 2025, 188 boys in the UK were given Brian or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #282, up from #476 for this spelling alone.

Among boys in 2025, it was 573rd in England and Wales, 269th in Scotland and 237th in Northern Ireland.

In the England and Wales top 100 for boys, which the ONS has published every ten years since 1904: 1924 (#66), 1934 (#4), 1944 (#7), 1954 (#17), 1964 (#31), 1974 (#51) and 1984 (#87).

1996Busiest: 190 in 19972025
Brian in the UK, year by year
YearBoysRank
202590#476
202483#526
202391#485
202293#478
202190#502
202076#553
201977#556
2018105#440
2017109#439
2016130#386
2015137#372
2014145#346
2013140#338
2012151#338
2011152#324
2010110#408
2009135#334
2008155#301
2007161#275
2006124#310
2005148#260
2004143#260
2003154#236
2002166#216
2001155#224
2000136#235
1999153#222
1998173#209
1997190#198
1996185#197

How popular is Brian in the US?

Rank in 2025
#339among boys
Babies in 2025
979about 1 in 1,700 boys
Five-year trend
Fallingdown 28% in five years
Same name in a class
under 1%chance among 15 boys

In 2025, 979 boys in the US were named Brian, making it the 339th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 271st. Its busiest year was 1972, with 36,306 boys. It first appears in the records in 1909.

2025 had fewer boys named Brian than any year since 1939.

Half of all the boys named Brian in the US since 1880 were born between 1966 and 1986, the years shaded on the chart below.

In 2025, 2,359 boys in the US were given Brian or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #174, up from #339 for this spelling alone.

1909Busiest: 36,306 in 19722025
Brian in the US, year by year
YearBoysRank
2025979#339
20241,116#302
20231,049#317
20221,180#289
20211,188#288
20201,261#271
20191,479#247
20181,631#235
20171,778#216
20161,984#204
20152,218#188
20142,536#168
20132,645#150
20122,820#141
20113,250#122
20103,766#101
20094,658#94
20085,263#87
20076,075#81
20066,511#72
20056,920#63
20047,333#59
20037,672#59
20028,082#51
20018,303#46
20008,958#43
19998,808#43
19989,146#41
19979,739#37
199610,476#36
199510,991#36
199411,648#37
199312,544#34
199214,107#31
199114,915#30
199016,935#27
198918,106#24
198819,532#22
198720,362#20
198621,027#20
198523,069#18
198424,720#17
198326,050#14
198225,829#14
198126,583#14
198028,715#12
197928,659#10
197829,432#9
197732,492#8
197630,517#8
197530,578#8
197434,449#8
197335,686#8
197236,306#8
197132,624#9
197031,917#8
196931,669#9
196829,922#10
196728,646#10
196627,253#14
196524,552#19
196424,167#20
196324,133#20
196223,221#20
196122,566#20
196022,000#20
195920,737#22
195819,279#24
195717,519#26
195614,666#32
195510,109#40
19548,078#48
19536,665#53
19525,741#64
19515,101#75
19504,441#79
19493,854#86
19483,358#95
19473,450#95
19462,585#103
19451,989#113
19441,954#116
19431,950#120
19421,523#139
19411,123#153
19401,007#163
1939808#176
1938609#204
1937519#228
1936344#289
1935254#347
1934187#402
1933150#450
1932119#538
193193#616
193090#645
1929112#557
1928104#603
192775#754
192647#1,010
192559#871
192438#1,169
192335#1,213
192231#1,308
192134#1,252
192031#1,300
191914#2,151
191812#2,397
191714#2,090
191617#1,770
191521#1,504
191411#1,974
191314#1,440
19126#2,268
19117#1,386
19100–
19095#1,439

Names like Brian

Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.

Kevin Ryan Conan Declan Brayden Regan Keegan Brogan Kian Kody Aiden Rian

Other spellings of Brian

Bryan Brayan Bryon Brion Brallan Brien

Names related to Brian

Baran Bran Boran Byran Bruin Bairon Braun

More Irish names

Oscar Rowan Rory Maeve Finn Nolan Quinn Orla Cody Erin Ronan Connor Casey Kennedy Callan Lennon

Every Irish name

Sources

Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.

To cite this page: Nameling, “Brian: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/brian, updated 20 October 2026.