Briar
- Gender
- Girl
- Say it
- BRY-ar
- Origin
- English
- UK rank, 2025
- #1,036 for girls
- US rank, 2025
- #400 for girls
Big in Scotland
Briar is a girls' name of English origin, meaning “thorny wild rose”. In 2025 it ranked 1,036th for girls in the UK (35 babies) and 400th for girls in the US (778 babies).
What does Briar mean?
English: plant name
“thorny wild rose”
Little Briar Rose is the Brothers Grimm's name for the Sleeping Beauty.
More on Wiktionary.
Is Briar a girl's or a boy's name?
Briar is a girls' name. In 2025, it was given to 35 girls in the UK and 778 girls and 397 boys in the US.
How popular is Briar in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- #1,036among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 35about 1 in 8,000 girls
- Five-year trend
- Steadyup 17% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 35 girls in the UK were named Briar, making it the 1,036th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 1,312th.
2025 had the most girls named Briar of any year since the records began in 1996.
Half of all the girls named Briar in the UK since 1996 were born between 2013 and 2022, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2025, 43 girls in the UK were given Briar or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #810, up from #1,036 for this spelling alone.
Among girls in 2025, it was 1,271st in England and Wales and 324th in Scotland.
Briar in the UK, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 35 | #1,036 |
| 2024 | 13 | #2,175 |
| 2023 | 21 | #1,560 |
| 2022 | 20 | #1,591 |
| 2021 | 20 | #1,605 |
| 2020 | 26 | #1,312 |
| 2019 | 14 | #2,052 |
| 2018 | 19 | #1,678 |
| 2017 | 19 | #1,711 |
| 2016 | 12 | #2,363 |
| 2015 | 15 | #1,988 |
| 2014 | 6 | #3,702 |
| 2013 | 9 | #2,796 |
| 2012 | 10 | #2,666 |
| 2011 | 3 | #6,007 |
| 2010 | 3 | #5,938 |
| 2009 | 5 | #4,141 |
| 2008 | 0 | – |
| 2007 | 7 | #3,060 |
| 2006 | 13 | #1,860 |
| 2005 | 0 | – |
| 2004 | 0 | – |
| 2003 | 4 | #3,768 |
| 2002 | 0 | – |
| 2001 | 3 | #4,156 |
| 2000 | 5 | #2,907 |
| 1999 | 1 | #5,182 |
| 1998 | 6 | #2,535 |
| 1997 | 3 | #3,991 |
| 1996 | 6 | #2,469 |
How popular is Briar in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- #400among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 778about 1 in 2,100 girls
- Five-year trend
- Risingup 30% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 778 girls in the US were named Briar, making it the 400th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 567th. It first appears in the records in 1972. 397 boys were also named Briar in 2025 (686th for boys).
2025 had the most girls named Briar of any year since it first appeared, in 1972.
Half of all the girls named Briar in the US since 1880 were born between 2016 and 2023, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2025, 915 girls in the US were given Briar or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #362, up from #400 for this spelling alone.
In 1990, 14% of the babies named Briar in the US were girls. By 2025 it was 66%, with more girls than boys since 2015.
Briar in the US, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 778 | #400 |
| 2024 | 589 | #522 |
| 2023 | 550 | #549 |
| 2022 | 579 | #534 |
| 2021 | 597 | #516 |
| 2020 | 519 | #567 |
| 2019 | 529 | #578 |
| 2018 | 422 | #687 |
| 2017 | 397 | #722 |
| 2016 | 355 | #801 |
| 2015 | 336 | #835 |
| 2014 | 158 | #1,436 |
| 2013 | 108 | #1,866 |
| 2012 | 108 | #1,859 |
| 2011 | 104 | #1,909 |
| 2010 | 70 | #2,589 |
| 2009 | 72 | #2,567 |
| 2008 | 51 | #3,266 |
| 2007 | 73 | #2,541 |
| 2006 | 53 | #3,135 |
| 2005 | 30 | #4,483 |
| 2004 | 37 | #3,815 |
| 2003 | 43 | #3,343 |
| 2002 | 34 | #3,806 |
| 2001 | 38 | #3,482 |
| 2000 | 35 | #3,659 |
| 1999 | 29 | #3,966 |
| 1998 | 31 | #3,727 |
| 1997 | 29 | #3,812 |
| 1996 | 22 | #4,578 |
| 1995 | 15 | #5,953 |
| 1994 | 22 | #4,516 |
| 1993 | 23 | #4,387 |
| 1992 | 19 | #5,044 |
| 1991 | 15 | #5,943 |
| 1990 | 7 | #10,187 |
| 1989 | 11 | #6,949 |
| 1988 | 8 | #8,386 |
| 1987 | 8 | #7,982 |
| 1986 | 5 | #10,907 |
| 1985 | 5 | #10,672 |
| 1984 | 12 | #5,538 |
| 1983 | 0 | – |
| 1982 | 8 | #7,467 |
| 1981 | 11 | #5,884 |
| 1980 | 7 | #8,177 |
| 1979 | 7 | #8,059 |
| 1978 | 8 | #6,946 |
| 1977 | 6 | #8,442 |
| 1976 | 8 | #6,609 |
| 1975 | 5 | #9,065 |
| 1974 | 5 | #8,773 |
| 1973 | 6 | #7,433 |
| 1972 | 5 | #8,290 |
Names like Briar
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Eden Caoimhe Ocean Fiadh Keira Aoibheann Eireann Cassidy Aoife Brooklyn Kiara Quinn
Other spellings of Briar
Names related to Briar
More English names
Lily Evelyn Hudson Ivy Harper Grace Violet Willow Daisy Poppy Riley Oakley Mason Cooper Ruby Hallie
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, “Briar: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/briar, updated 20 October 2026.