Brinnly first name popularity, history and meaning

Find out how popular the first name Brinnly has been for the last 4 years (from 2013 to 2016) and learn more about the meaning and history.

Meaning of Brinnly

A feminine name of English origin meaning "from the bright meadow".

Popularity of Brinnly by gender

Based on the last 4 years of data, Brinnly is exclusively a female name.

For the most recent data in 2016, there were 5 female babies and 0 male babies born with the name Brinnly.

Year Male Count Female Count
2016 0 5
2013 0 5

The history of the first name Brinnly

The name Brinnly is believed to have its origins in the ancient Celtic languages spoken across parts of Europe during the Iron Age. The name is thought to be derived from the Proto-Celtic root *brig, meaning "high" or "exalted", combined with a diminutive suffix meaning "little". This suggests the name may have originally meant something along the lines of "little exalted one".

Early forms of the name can be found in ancient inscriptions and artifacts from regions like modern-day Britain, France, and parts of the Iberian Peninsula. Similar spellings like Brigindos and Brigenitos appear in some early Celtic texts and records. The name seems to have been particularly popular among certain Celtic tribes like the Brigantes who inhabited what is now northern England.

One of the earliest known individuals with a form of this name was Brigantia, a Celtic goddess worshipped in Britain and northern Gaul during the Roman era. She was associated with rivers, healing waters, and sovereignty. A few centuries later, the 6th century British monk and abbot Saint Brindán or Brinnóc founded several monasteries in southwest Britain.

In the early medieval period, variants like Brinley and Brynley appear in various Welsh and Cornish genealogies and records. Brinley Recs, a 15th century Welsh gentleman from Pembrokeshire, was among those documented with this spelling. Around 1500, Sir Brynley Salusbury of Lleweni was a prominent Welsh landowner and supporter of the Tudor dynasty.

During the Renaissance, English forms like Brindley and Brindly crop up, such as Brindley Dowdeswell (c.1532-1593), an English Catholic martyr executed for his faith. In the 1600s, John Brindley (1616-1675) was Anglican Bishop of Killaloe in Ireland. The spelling Brinnly does not appear to have been widely used until more recent centuries, though its roots trace back to very ancient origins.

Data source

The first name data used on this page comes from the Social Security Administration (SSA). They've been collecting data on baby names since 1880.

The history and meaning of the name Brinnly was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Brinnly, please contact us.

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"Brinnly first name popularity, history and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on June 4, 2025. http://namecensus.com/first-names/brinnly-meaning-and-history/.

"Brinnly first name popularity, history and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/first-names/brinnly-meaning-and-history/. Accessed 4 June, 2025

Brinnly first name popularity, history and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/first-names/brinnly-meaning-and-history/.

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