Brilliant
A name derived from the Latin word "brillare," meaning "to sparkle or shine brightly."
Name Census estimates that about 56 living Americans carry the first name Brilliant. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 71.4% of registrations being male. The average person named Brilliant today is around 7 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Brilliant births was 2022 (13 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Brilliant. 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 Brilliant. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
56
~ 1 in 6,120,613 Americans
Peak year
2022
13 babies that year
Average age
7
years old
2023 SSA rank
#9,036
Tracked since 2011
Gender
Gender distribution for Brilliant
Brilliant is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 56 total registrations, 40 (71.4%) were male and 16 (28.6%) were female.
Brilliant as a male name
- Ranked #9,036 in 2023
- 8 male births in 2023
- Peak: 2022 (8 births)
Brilliant as a female name
- Ranked #15,706 in 2022
- 5 female births in 2022
- Peak: 2019 (6 births)
Popularity
Brilliant: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Brilliant 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 38 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
Brilliant 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 Brilliant 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 Brilliant
The given name Brilliant is derived from the Latin word "brilliare," which means "to sparkle or shine." It emerged as a name during the Renaissance period in Europe, particularly in Italy and France, where the revival of classical learning and arts led to an appreciation for intellectual brilliance and creativity.
One of the earliest recorded uses of Brilliant as a given name dates back to the 15th century. It was bestowed upon notable scholars, artists, and thinkers who were celebrated for their exceptional talents and intellectual achievements. For instance, Brilliant Fontana, an Italian painter and architect born in 1481, was renowned for his frescoes and architectural works in Urbino.
During the Age of Enlightenment in the 17th and 18th centuries, the name Brilliant gained further popularity as a symbol of reason, scientific inquiry, and the pursuit of knowledge. Brilliant Descartes, a French philosopher and mathematician born in 1596, is considered one of the founding figures of modern philosophy and is celebrated for his famous quote, "I think, therefore I am."
In the 19th century, the name Brilliant transcended its intellectual connotations and was adopted by families from various social backgrounds. Brilliant Clemens, an American writer and humorist better known as Mark Twain, was born in 1835 and is renowned for his works such as "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" and "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer."
The 20th century saw the continued use of Brilliant as a given name, often bestowed upon individuals with a passion for learning and intellectual pursuits. Brilliant Einstein, the renowned German-born theoretical physicist born in 1879, is perhaps one of the most famous bearers of the name, celebrated for his groundbreaking work in relativity and his influential contributions to modern physics.
Another notable figure with the name Brilliant is Brilliant Feynman, an American theoretical physicist born in 1918, who was widely recognized for his work in quantum mechanics and quantum electrodynamics, as well as his engaging and insightful lectures on physics and scientific curiosity.
While the name Brilliant has been used across various cultures and time periods, its origins and historical associations remain rooted in the celebration of intellectual brilliance, creativity, and the pursuit of knowledge.
People
Brilliant + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Brilliant 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
Brilliant: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Brilliant?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 56 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Brilliant 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 6,120,613 US residents.
Is Brilliant a common name?
We classify Brilliant as "Very Rare". It ranks above 56% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 56 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Brilliant most popular?
The single biggest year for Brilliant was 2022, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Brilliant is about 7 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Brilliant a male name?
Yes, 71.4% of people registered as Brilliant 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.
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.