Briggsten
A Scottish surname derived from a place name and meaning "farm town".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Briggsten. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Briggsten today is around 4 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Briggsten births was 2022 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Briggsten. 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 Briggsten. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
2022
5 babies that year
Average age
4
years old
2022 SSA rank
#12,636
Tracked since 2022
Popularity
Briggsten: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Briggsten 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 Briggsten during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Briggsten
The name Briggsten has its origins in the Old Norse language, which was spoken by the Germanic people who inhabited Scandinavia during the Viking Age, roughly between the 8th and 11th centuries. The name is believed to be derived from the Old Norse words "bryggja," meaning "bridge," and "steinn," which translates to "stone." This suggests that the name may have originally referred to someone who lived near or worked on a stone bridge.
Briggsten can be found in several ancient Icelandic sagas and manuscripts, which provide valuable insights into the history and culture of the Norse people. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the Landnámabók, a medieval Icelandic book that chronicles the settlement of Iceland by Norse explorers in the 9th and 10th centuries.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Briggsten. One of the earliest was Briggsten Thorvaldsson (c. 910 - 980), a Norse explorer and settler who is credited with being one of the first Europeans to set foot in North America, predating the voyages of Christopher Columbus by several centuries.
Another prominent figure was Briggsten the Red (c. 1050 - 1115), a Viking chieftain and warrior who led several successful raids against the British Isles and France. His exploits were chronicled in the Knýtlinga saga, an Icelandic saga that recounts the lives of the Danish kings.
In the 13th century, Briggsten Sveinsson (c. 1220 - 1290) was a renowned Icelandic poet and scholar who played a significant role in preserving and promoting the Old Norse language and literature. His most notable work is the Codex Regius, a collection of Old Norse poetry that includes the Poetic Edda and the Völsunga saga.
During the Middle Ages, Briggsten Olafsson (c. 1380 - 1440) was a prominent Norwegian clergyman and diplomat who served as the Bishop of Bergen and played a crucial role in negotiating peace treaties between Norway and neighboring countries.
Lastly, Briggsten Eriksson (c. 1520 - 1585) was a Swedish military commander who fought in numerous battles during the Northern Seven Years' War against Denmark and the Livonian War against Russia. He is remembered for his bravery and tactical prowess on the battlefield.
While the name Briggsten may not be as common today as it once was, it remains an important part of Scandinavian cultural heritage and a testament to the rich history and traditions of the Norse people.
People
Briggsten + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Briggsten 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
Briggsten: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Briggsten?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Briggsten 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 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Briggsten a common name?
We classify Briggsten as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Briggsten most popular?
The single biggest year for Briggsten was 2022, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Briggsten is about 4 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 Briggsten in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Briggsten a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Briggsten 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 Briggsten still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Briggsten 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 Briggsten 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 have the name Briggsten?
See how many people share the name Briggsten on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.