Bricyn
A masculine Welsh name derived from the elements "bri" (hill) and "cyn" (chief, leader).
Name Census estimates that about 91 living Americans carry the first name Bricyn. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Bricyn today is around 13 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Bricyn births was 2012 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Bricyn. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Bricyn. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
91
~ 1 in 3,766,531 Americans
Peak year
2012
11 babies that year
Average age
13
years old
2019 SSA rank
#12,421
Tracked since 2008
Popularity
Bricyn: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Bricyn from the 2000s through to the 2010s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 78 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Bricyn 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 Bricyn during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Bricyn
The name Bricyn has its roots in the ancient Brittonic Celtic language, which was spoken across what is now Great Britain, Ireland, and parts of northwestern France during the Iron Age and Roman periods. It is believed to be derived from the Proto-Celtic word *brico, which means "speckled" or "freckled."
Bricyn was a relatively common name among the ancient Britons, and it appears in several early medieval Welsh texts and genealogies. One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was Brycyn Brycheiniog, a 5th-century king of Brycheiniog (now Breconshire) in Wales. He is mentioned in the medieval Welsh text "Historia Brittonum" and is considered a semi-legendary figure.
Another notable figure named Bricyn was Brychan Brycheiniog, a 5th-century Welsh king and saint who is said to have had numerous children, many of whom were also venerated as saints. His life and deeds are recorded in various Welsh hagiographies and genealogies.
In the 6th century, a Bricyn ap Corthyn is mentioned as one of the early kings of Ceredigion in Wales. He is recorded in the "Harleian Genealogies" and other medieval Welsh sources.
In the 9th century, a Bricyn ap Rhain is listed as one of the kings of Dyfed, a kingdom in southwestern Wales, in the "Annales Cambriae" and other chronicles.
A notable bearer of the name in later history was Brycyn ap Rhodri, a 12th-century Welsh prince and Lord of Penllyn in Merionethshire. He is mentioned in various medieval Welsh genealogies and records.
While the name Bricyn was relatively common in medieval Wales, its usage declined in later centuries. However, it has been revived in modern times as a Welsh given name, albeit with a slightly different spelling such as Brycyn or Brychan.
People
Bricyn + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Bricyn 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
Bricyn: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Bricyn?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 91 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Bricyn 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 3,766,531 US residents.
Is Bricyn a common name?
We classify Bricyn as "Very Rare". It ranks above 63.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 92 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Bricyn most popular?
The single biggest year for Bricyn was 2012, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Bricyn is about 13 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Bricyn in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Bricyn a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Bricyn in the SSA data are male. 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 Bricyn still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Bricyn 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 Bricyn 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people share the name Bricyn?
Find out how many Americans are named Bricyn on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.