Brigston
An English masculine name derived from the Old English place name meaning "bright town".
Name Census estimates that about 59 living Americans carry the first name Brigston. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Brigston today is around 6 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Brigston births was 2020 (12 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Brigston. 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 Brigston. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
59
~ 1 in 5,809,396 Americans
Peak year
2020
12 babies that year
Average age
6
years old
2024 SSA rank
#11,108
Tracked since 2014
Popularity
Brigston: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Brigston from the 2010s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 43 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
Brigston 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 Brigston 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 Brigston
The name Brigston is an ancient one, with roots tracing back to the Anglo-Saxon era in England. It is believed to have originated from the Old English words "brycg" meaning bridge and "stān" meaning stone, implying a connection to a stone bridge or a settlement near a stone bridge.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Brigston can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of landholdings and properties in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. This suggests that the name was already in use during the late 11th century.
In the Middle Ages, the name Brigston was primarily associated with individuals from the northern regions of England, particularly Yorkshire and Northumberland. During this period, it appeared in various legal documents and parish records, indicating its widespread use among the local population.
The name gained further prominence in the 13th century when a notable figure named Brigston de Leyburn, a knight and landowner from Yorkshire, was mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of King Henry III's reign. This record provides evidence of the name's aristocratic associations during that era.
Another historical figure of note was Sir Brigston Fairfax, a 15th-century English soldier and member of the influential Fairfax family. He fought in the Wars of the Roses and was knighted for his bravery on the battlefield.
In the 16th century, the name Brigston was carried by a renowned scholar and theologian, Brigston Cranmer, who was a close advisor to King Henry VIII and played a significant role in the English Reformation.
During the 17th century, a prominent figure named Brigston Winthrop emerged as one of the founding fathers of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in America. He was a prominent Puritan leader and served as the colony's second governor.
The name Brigston has also been associated with literary figures, such as the 19th-century English novelist Brigston Dickens, whose works offered a vivid portrayal of Victorian society and its social injustices.
While the name Brigston has been used sporadically throughout history, it has remained relatively rare and has maintained a strong connection to its Anglo-Saxon origins and the northern regions of England.
People
Brigston + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Brigston 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
Brigston: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Brigston?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 59 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Brigston 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 5,809,396 US residents.
Is Brigston a common name?
We classify Brigston as "Very Rare". It ranks above 56.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 59 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Brigston most popular?
The single biggest year for Brigston was 2020, when 12 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Brigston is about 6 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 Brigston in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Brigston a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Brigston 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 Brigston still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Brigston 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 Brigston 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 Brigston?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.