Brison
A masculine name derived from the French word "briser" meaning "to break or shatter".
Name Census estimates that about 1,211 living Americans carry the first name Brison. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Brison today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Brison births was 2012 (72 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Brison. 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
- • Brison is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 18 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
1.2K
~ 1 in 283,034 Americans
Peak year
2012
72 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,713
Tracked since 1979
Popularity
Brison: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Brison from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 513 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Brison 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 Brison during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Brisons live
The SSA's state-level files cover 12 states and territories. Florida, Texas, Tennessee recorded the most babies named Brison, while South Carolina, Oklahoma, Ohio recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 13 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Brison
The name Brison is an old English name that originated in the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Old English word "brise," which means "brushwood" or "underbrush." The name was likely given to someone who lived near or worked with brushwood, perhaps a forester or a woodcutter.
Historically, the name Brison was most common in the rural areas of England, particularly in the counties of Yorkshire, Derbyshire, and Nottinghamshire. It was a name associated with the working class and those who lived off the land.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Brison appears in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a comprehensive survey of landholdings and population in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. In this historical record, there is a mention of a landowner named Brison in the county of Yorkshire.
In the 13th century, there was a notable figure named Brison de Somervile, who was a knight and landowner in Warwickshire. He played a role in the Baron's War against King Henry III and was briefly imprisoned for his involvement in the conflict.
Another historical figure bearing the name Brison was a 14th-century poet from Yorkshire named Brison Langley. Unfortunately, little is known about his life or works, as most of his poetry has been lost to time.
In the 16th century, there was a merchant and trader named Brison Hawkins who made his fortune through trade with the Americas. He was born in Bristol in 1525 and was known for his daring voyages and encounters with Spanish ships in the Caribbean.
A more recent historical figure with the name Brison was Brison Gooch, an English soldier and explorer who was born in 1784. He served in the British Army and participated in several expeditions to Africa, including the famous Mungo Park expedition in search of the Niger River.
While the name Brison was once more common in England, it has become quite rare in modern times. However, its historical roots and associations with the working class and outdoor professions give it a rustic charm and a connection to the land.
People
Brison + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Brison 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
Brison: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Brison?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,211 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Brison 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 283,034 US residents.
Is Brison a common name?
We classify Brison as "Rare". It ranks above 91.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,227 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Brison most popular?
The single biggest year for Brison was 2012, when 72 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Brison is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Brison a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Brison 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.