Brilyn
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly a blend of Brielle and Lynn.
Name Census estimates that about 419 living Americans carry the first name Brilyn. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 85.8% of registrations being female. The average person named Brilyn today is around 13 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Brilyn births was 2013 (42 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Brilyn. 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
419
~ 1 in 818,029 Americans
Peak year
2013
42 babies that year
Average age
13
years old
2022 SSA rank
#9,639
Tracked since 1998
Gender
Gender distribution for Brilyn
Brilyn leans heavily female at 85.8% of total registrations, but 60 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Brilyn as a male name
- Ranked #12,637 in 2022
- 5 male births in 2022
- Peak: 2010 (8 births)
Brilyn as a female name
- Ranked #9,639 in 2024
- 10 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2013 (37 births)
Popularity
Brilyn: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Brilyn from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 235 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Brilyn remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Brilyn 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 Brilyn during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Brilyns live
Origin
Meaning and history of Brilyn
The name Brilyn is a modern English variant derived from the Celtic name Brilyn, which itself is a combination of the Welsh elements "bri" meaning "hill" and "lyn" meaning "lake" or "pool." The name's origins can be traced back to the ancient Britons, a Celtic people who inhabited what is now Great Britain and parts of modern-day France.
While the exact etymology of the name Brilyn is uncertain, it is believed to have emerged as a place name during the medieval period, possibly referring to a location near a hill and a lake or pool. Over time, this place name evolved into a personal name, likely used by families living in or originating from the area it described.
There are no definitive historical references to the name Brilyn in ancient texts or religious scriptures. However, some of the earliest recorded instances of similar names can be found in Welsh and English records dating back to the 16th and 17th centuries, such as "Bridlyn" and "Bridlyne."
One of the earliest known individuals with the name Brilyn was Brilyn ap Rhys (born around 1550), a Welsh landowner and minor nobleman from Carmarthenshire, Wales. Another notable figure was Brilyn Owens (1620-1698), an English poet and playwright active during the Restoration period.
In the 18th century, Brilyn Edwards (1715-1789) was a Welsh Methodist minister and author known for his religious writings. A century later, Brilyn Jones (1830-1892) was a prominent Welsh architect responsible for designing several churches and public buildings in South Wales.
Moving into the 20th century, Brilyn Thomas (1905-1982) was a Welsh journalist and editor who worked for various publications in Cardiff and played a significant role in promoting Welsh literature and culture.
While the name Brilyn has remained relatively uncommon throughout history, its Celtic roots and unique sound have contributed to its growing popularity in recent decades as a given name for both boys and girls.
People
Brilyn + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Brilyn 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
Brilyn: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Brilyn?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 419 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Brilyn 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 818,029 US residents.
Is Brilyn a common name?
We classify Brilyn as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 423 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Brilyn most popular?
The single biggest year for Brilyn was 2013, when 42 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Brilyn is about 13 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Brilyn a female name?
Yes, 85.8% of people registered as Brilyn 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.