Bria
A feminine name of Irish origin meaning "strength, vigor".
Name Census estimates that about 16,304 living Americans carry the first name Bria. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Bria today is around 22 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Bria births was 1993 (1,698 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Bria. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Bria with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Bria is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 55 boys registered with the name since 1880.
People living today
16K
~ 1 in 21,023 Americans
Peak year
1993
1,698 babies that year
Average age
22
years old
1997 SSA rank
#1,009
Tracked since 1966
Census
Bria in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 13,645 people with the first name Bria, which placed it at #2,013 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#2,013
National first-name rank
People counted
14K
13,645 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
4.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
53.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bria
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Bria is Black at 53.5%. The next largest groups are White (32.7%) and Hispanic (6.2%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Bria described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Bria at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American53.5% · 7,300
- White32.7% · 4,462
- Hispanic or Latino6.2% · 852
- Two or more races6.0% · 816
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 144
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 71
Gender
Gender distribution for Bria
Out of the 16,668 babies given the name Bria since 1880, 99.7% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Bria as a male name
- Ranked #9,445 in 1997
- 5 male births in 1997
- Peak: 1984 (8 births)
Bria as a female name
- Ranked #1,009 in 2024
- 253 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1993 (1,698 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Bria leans strongly female. 13,382 people counted with this name were female (98.0%), compared with 272 male bearers (2.0%).
Popularity
Bria: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Bria from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 6,783 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Bria by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Bria during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Brias live
The SSA's state-level files cover 46 states and territories. Texas, New York, California recorded the most babies named Bria, while New Mexico, Hawaii, Maine recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 313 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Bria
The name Bria is believed to have its origins in the Gaelic language, with the earliest recorded use dating back to the 5th century. It is derived from the Celtic word "bri," which means "hill" or "exalted one." This suggests that the name may have been associated with people who lived in hilly or elevated regions, or those who held positions of authority or respect within their communities.
In ancient Irish mythology, there is a reference to a character named Bria, who was a warrior princess known for her bravery and strength in battle. While the historical accuracy of this figure is debatable, it provides an early example of the name's existence and its association with traits such as courage and leadership.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Bria was Saint Bria of Munster, who lived in Ireland during the 6th century. She was a nun and abbess who founded several monasteries and was renowned for her piety and religious devotion. Another notable figure was Bria of Cornwall, a noblewoman from the 9th century who played a significant role in the defense of her region against Viking invasions.
During the Middle Ages, the name Bria became more widespread across Europe, particularly in regions with strong Celtic influences. A prominent example is Bria de Aubigny, a Norman noblewoman born in 1090, who was known for her involvement in the Norman conquest of England and her role in the establishment of several monasteries.
In the 16th century, Bria de Laval, a French noblewoman born in 1528, made a name for herself as a patron of the arts and a supporter of the Renaissance movement. She hosted several renowned artists and writers at her court and contributed to the cultural and intellectual development of the time.
As the name Bria spread across different cultures and regions, it has taken on various spellings and adaptations, such as Bree, Bria, and Briah. However, its roots remain firmly grounded in the Gaelic tradition, carrying the essence of strength, leadership, and connection to the natural world.
People
Bria + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Bria as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with B
Other first names starting with B with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Bria: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Bria?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 16,304 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Bria going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 21,023 US residents.
Is Bria a common name?
We classify Bria as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 16,668 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Bria most popular?
The single biggest year for Bria was 1993, when 1,698 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Bria is about 22 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Bria in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 13,645 people with the name Bria, or 4.52 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #2,013 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Bria in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Bria?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Bria leans strongly female. 13,382 people counted with this name were female (98.0%), compared with 272 male bearers (2.0%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Bria?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Bria is Black at 53.5%. The next largest groups are White (32.7%) and Hispanic (6.2%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Bria most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Bria in the 2020 Census, accounting for 53.5% (7,300 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Bria in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Bria a female name?
Yes, 99.7% of people registered as Bria in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Bria still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Bria in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Bria can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are called Bria?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.