Brissa
A feminine given name derived from the Italian phrase "brezza marina" meaning "sea breeze".
Name Census estimates that about 2,717 living Americans carry the first name Brissa. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Brissa today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Brissa births was 2010 (230 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Brissa. 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
2.7K
~ 1 in 126,152 Americans
Peak year
2010
230 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,757
Tracked since 1979
Census
Brissa in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,203 people with the first name Brissa, which placed it at #7,052 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#7,052
National first-name rank
People counted
2.2K
2,203 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.7
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
94.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Brissa
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Brissa is Hispanic at 94.9%. The next largest groups are White (3.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Brissa described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Brissa at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino94.9% · 2,090
- White3.9% · 86
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 12
- Black or African American0.3% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 4
- Two or more races0.2% · 4
Popularity
Brissa: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Brissa from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 1,284 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Brissa 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 Brissa during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Brissas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 12 states and territories. Texas, California, Arizona recorded the most babies named Brissa, while New York, Nevada, North Carolina recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 154 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Brissa
The name Brissa has its origins in the ancient Greek language, where it is believed to have been derived from the word "brizo," meaning "to nod off" or "to slumber." This connection suggests that the name may have been associated with a peaceful or serene nature.
In the early days, the name was primarily found in various regions of Greece, particularly in the Attica region and the island of Crete. Historical records indicate that Brissa was a relatively uncommon name during the Classical Greek period, but it gained some prominence in the Hellenistic era.
One of the earliest known references to the name Brissa can be found in the works of the ancient Greek poet Callimachus, who lived in the third century BC. In his poem "Hymn to Artemis," he mentions a character named Brissa, though little is known about her significance or role.
Throughout the centuries, the name Brissa has been carried by a few notable individuals. One of the most prominent bearers was Brissa of Cyrene, a Greek philosopher and mathematician who lived in the third century BC. She was a student of the renowned mathematician Conon of Samos and is credited with making significant contributions to the field of geometry.
Another historical figure with the name Brissa was a Greek actress who lived during the second century AD. She gained recognition for her performances in various theatrical productions in Athens and is mentioned in several ancient writings as a talented and celebrated performer.
In the Middle Ages, the name Brissa resurfaced in various regions of Europe, particularly in Italy and Spain. One notable bearer was Brissa di Montefalco, an Italian nun and mystic who lived in the 13th century. She is revered in some Catholic traditions for her pious life and reported miraculous experiences.
During the Renaissance period, the name Brissa appeared in the works of several Italian and Spanish writers, further contributing to its dissemination across Europe. One such individual was Brissa Della Rovere, an Italian noblewoman and patron of the arts who lived in the 15th century.
While the name Brissa has remained relatively uncommon throughout history, it has been carried by a few notable individuals who have left their mark in various fields, ranging from philosophy and mathematics to the arts and religious devotion.
People
Brissa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Brissa 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
Brissa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Brissa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,717 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Brissa 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 126,152 US residents.
Is Brissa a common name?
We classify Brissa as "Rare". It ranks above 94.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,757 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Brissa most popular?
The single biggest year for Brissa was 2010, when 230 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Brissa is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Brissa in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,203 people with the name Brissa, or 0.73 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #7,052 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Brissa in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Brissa?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Brissa appears almost entirely female. Of the 2,208 people counted with this name, 99.9% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Brissa?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Brissa is Hispanic at 94.9%. The next largest groups are White (3.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Brissa most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Brissa in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.9% (2,090 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Brissa in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Brissa a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Brissa 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.
Is Brissa still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Brissa in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Brissa can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
How many people share the name Brissa?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.