Brion
Celtic name meaning either "a hill" or "the son of wisdom".
Name Census estimates that about 2,607 living Americans carry the first name Brion. It is a predominantly male name (96.9% of registrations). The average person named Brion today is around 45 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Brion births was 1957 (87 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Brion. 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
- • Although Brion is used almost entirely for boys, the SSA data does show 89 girls registered with the name since 1880.
People living today
2.6K
~ 1 in 131,475 Americans
Peak year
1957
87 babies that year
Average age
45
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,253
Tracked since 1945
Gender
Gender distribution for Brion
Brion leans heavily male at 96.9% of total registrations, but 89 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Brion as a male name
- Ranked #5,253 in 2024
- 18 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1957 (87 births)
Brion as a female name
- Ranked #16,114 in 2018
- 5 female births in 2018
- Peak: 1994 (14 births)
Popularity
Brion: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Brion from the 1940s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 612 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Brion 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 Brion during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Brions live
The SSA's state-level files cover 13 states and territories. California, Pennsylvania, New York recorded the most babies named Brion, while Virginia, North Carolina, Wisconsin recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 47 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Brion
The name Brion has its origins in the Breton language, spoken in the region of Brittany in northwestern France. It is derived from the Celtic root "bri," which means "hill" or "elevated place." This root is also found in the names Brian and Brynn.
In ancient times, the name Brion likely referred to someone who lived on or near a hill or elevated area. The earliest recorded instances of the name date back to the Middle Ages, when it was primarily used in Brittany and the surrounding regions.
One of the earliest known historical figures with the name Brion was Brion de Bourdeilles, a French soldier and writer who lived in the 16th century. He is best known for his memoir "La vie des dames galantes," which provided a glimpse into the lives of courtesans and noble women in Renaissance France.
Another notable figure was Brion Gysin, an English painter, writer, and performer who lived from 1916 to 1986. He is widely regarded as one of the key figures in the Beat Generation and is credited with popularizing the cut-up writing technique, which influenced authors like William S. Burroughs.
In the world of sports, Brion Tolver was a professional American football player who played as a defensive back in the National Football League (NFL) from 1974 to 1977. He was drafted by the Oakland Raiders and also played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Brion James, an American actor born in 1945, had a successful career in film and television, appearing in movies like "Blade Runner," "The Player," and "The Hills Have Eyes." He was known for his versatility in playing both leading and supporting roles, often portraying villains or antagonists.
Finally, Brion Sisco was an American musician and songwriter who lived from 1943 to 2022. He was a founding member of the rock band Canned Heat and co-wrote several of their hits, including "Going Up the Country" and "On the Road Again."
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who bore the name Brion, showcasing its longevity and diverse cultural backgrounds.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Brion
People
Brion + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Brion 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
Brion: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Brion?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,607 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Brion 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 131,475 US residents.
Is Brion a common name?
We classify Brion as "Rare". It ranks above 94.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,887 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Brion most popular?
The single biggest year for Brion was 1957, when 87 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Brion is about 45 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Brion a male name?
Yes, 96.9% of people registered as Brion 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.