Briann
A unisex name derived from the Irish surname Breen meaning "descendant of the strong one".
Name Census estimates that about 1,581 living Americans carry the first name Briann. It is a predominantly female name (98.8% of registrations). The average person named Briann today is around 28 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Briann births was 1996 (90 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Briann. 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.
People living today
1.6K
~ 1 in 216,796 Americans
Peak year
1996
90 babies that year
Average age
28
years old
2012 SSA rank
#12,544
Tracked since 1978
Census
Briann in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,432 people with the first name Briann, which placed it at #9,621 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
#9,621
National first-name rank
People counted
1.4K
1,432 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
59.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Briann
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Briann is White at 59.6%. The next largest groups are Black (16.9%) and Hispanic (15.4%). 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 Briann 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 Briann at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White59.6% · 853
- Black or African American16.9% · 242
- Hispanic or Latino15.4% · 220
- Two or more races4.2% · 60
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.5% · 36
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.5% · 21
Gender
Gender distribution for Briann
Briann leans heavily female at 98.8% of total registrations, but 20 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Briann as a male name
- Ranked #12,544 in 2012
- 5 male births in 2012
- Peak: 1994 (5 births)
Briann as a female name
- Ranked #15,650 in 2024
- 5 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1996 (90 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Briann leans strongly female. 1,339 people counted with this name were female (93.8%), compared with 89 male bearers (6.2%).
Popularity
Briann: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Briann from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 725 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
Briann 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 Briann during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Brianns live
The SSA's state-level files cover 14 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Briann, while Washington, Michigan, Indiana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 24 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Briann
The name Briann has its origins in the Gaelic language and can be traced back to Ireland and Scotland in the early medieval period. It is derived from the Old Irish word "bri," which means "hill" or "elevated land." The name likely originated as a topographic name, given to someone who lived near a prominent hill or raised area.
In ancient Irish manuscripts and genealogical records, various spellings of the name can be found, including Briain, Brian, and Bran. The name gained popularity in Ireland during the 10th and 11th centuries, particularly after the reign of Brian Boru, the famous High King of Ireland who ruled from 1002 to 1014 AD.
One of the earliest documented individuals with the name was Saint Brian, an Irish abbot who lived in the 6th century AD. He founded the monastery of Clonfert in County Galway, which became an important center of learning and religion during the early medieval period.
Another notable figure in history with the name Briann was Brian Boru, the legendary High King of Ireland. Born around 941 AD, he is celebrated for his victory over the Danish Vikings at the Battle of Clontarf in 1014, which effectively ended the Viking conquest of Ireland. His reign marked a significant period in Irish history, and he is remembered as a powerful leader and warrior.
In the 12th century, there was a Scottish king named Brian, who ruled from 1107 to 1124 AD. He was the son of Malcolm III and is sometimes referred to as Brian FitzCount or Brian of Scotland.
During the 17th century, Brian O'Rourke was an Irish landowner and chieftain of the O'Rourke clan in County Leitrim. He played a significant role in the Irish Confederate Wars, fighting against the English forces during the 1640s.
Another notable figure was Briann Boroimhe, an Irish prince and military leader who lived in the 10th century AD. He was a member of the Dál gCais dynasty and played a crucial role in the Battle of Clontarf, supporting his relative, King Brian Boru.
While the name Briann has its roots in ancient Irish and Scottish history, it has since spread to other parts of the world and has been adopted by various cultures and communities.
People
Briann + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Briann 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
Briann: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Briann?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,581 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Briann 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 216,796 US residents.
Is Briann a common name?
We classify Briann as "Rare". It ranks above 92.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,629 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Briann most popular?
The single biggest year for Briann was 1996, when 90 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Briann is about 28 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Briann in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,432 people with the name Briann, or 0.47 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #9,621 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 Briann 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 Briann?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Briann leans strongly female. 1,339 people counted with this name were female (93.8%), compared with 89 male bearers (6.2%). 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 Briann?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Briann is White at 59.6%. The next largest groups are Black (16.9%) and Hispanic (15.4%). 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 Briann most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Briann in the 2020 Census, accounting for 59.6% (853 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 Briann in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Briann a female name?
Yes, 98.8% of people registered as Briann 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 Briann still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Briann 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 Briann 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 share the name Briann?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.