Brienne
A feminine name of French origin meaning "having strong faith".
Name Census estimates that about 1,439 living Americans carry the first name Brienne. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Brienne today is around 32 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Brienne births was 1979 (122 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Brienne. 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
1.4K
~ 1 in 238,189 Americans
Peak year
1979
122 babies that year
Average age
32
years old
1980 SSA rank
#6,368
Tracked since 1977
Gender
Gender distribution for Brienne
Out of the 1,502 babies given the name Brienne 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.
Brienne as a male name
- Ranked #6,368 in 1980
- 5 male births in 1980
- Peak: 1980 (5 births)
Brienne as a female name
- Ranked #8,512 in 2024
- 12 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1979 (122 births)
Popularity
Brienne: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Brienne from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 596 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Brienne 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 Brienne during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Briennes live
The SSA's state-level files cover 15 states and territories. California, New York, Pennsylvania recorded the most babies named Brienne, while Washington, Utah, Minnesota recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 21 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Brienne
The given name Brienne finds its origins in the Old French language, having emerged during the Middle Ages. Its roots can be traced back to the Breton word "bren," which means "hill" or "ridge." This suggests the name may have initially been associated with geographical features or regions characterized by such terrain.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Brienne can be found in the annals of the influential Brienne family, a noble lineage that originated in the Champagne region of northeastern France. This family played a significant role in the Crusades and produced several notable figures throughout history.
In the 12th century, a member of this family, John of Brienne, became the King of Jerusalem from 1210 to 1225. His reign was marked by his efforts to defend the dwindling Crusader territories in the Holy Land against the encroaching Muslim forces.
Another notable figure bearing the name Brienne was Marie de Brienne, who lived in the 13th century. She was the daughter of John of Brienne and inherited the title of Countess of Lecce and Brindisi in southern Italy.
Moving forward in history, Brienne de Lux was a 15th-century French noblewoman who served as the Lady of Honor to Queen Marie of Anjou, wife of King Charles VII of France.
In the realm of literature, the name Brienne gained prominence through the character of Brienne of Tarth, a notable figure in George R.R. Martin's acclaimed fantasy series "A Song of Ice and Fire." This fictional character, born in 280 AC (After Conquest), is a skilled warrior and member of the Kingsguard known for her unwavering loyalty and sense of honor.
While the name Brienne may have originated from geographical references, it has also been adopted as a given name, particularly in France and other parts of Europe, carrying with it a sense of strength, resilience, and nobility associated with its historical bearers.
People
Brienne + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Brienne 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
Brienne: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Brienne?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,439 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Brienne 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 238,189 US residents.
Is Brienne a common name?
We classify Brienne as "Rare". It ranks above 92.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,502 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Brienne most popular?
The single biggest year for Brienne was 1979, when 122 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Brienne is about 32 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Brienne a female name?
Yes, 99.7% of people registered as Brienne 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.
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.