Britain
A feminine name with uncertain origins, possibly derived from the Celtic word meaning "great" or "exalted".
Name Census estimates that about 1,486 living Americans carry the first name Britain. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 53.5% of registrations being male. The average person named Britain today is around 21 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Britain births was 2014 (70 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Britain. 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
- • Britain sits in rare territory as a truly gender-neutral name, given to boys and girls in near-equal numbers.
People living today
1.5K
~ 1 in 230,656 Americans
Peak year
2014
70 babies that year
Average age
21
years old
2024 SSA rank
#9,084
Tracked since 1966
Gender
Gender distribution for Britain
Britain is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 1,515 total registrations, 810 (53.5%) were male and 705 (46.5%) were female.
Britain as a male name
- Ranked #9,084 in 2024
- 8 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2014 (39 births)
Britain as a female name
- Ranked #11,256 in 2024
- 8 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2017 (38 births)
Popularity
Britain: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Britain from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 559 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
Britain 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 Britain during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Britains live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. Texas, Georgia, California recorded the most babies named Britain, while South Carolina, Ohio, Michigan recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 11 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Britain
The name Britain is an intriguing one, with its origins rooted in the ancient lands of the British Isles. It has a rich history that spans centuries, though its exact derivation is shrouded in mystery. Some scholars believe it stems from the Proto-Celtic word "Britani," which referred to the inhabitants of the island of Great Britain. Others trace its roots to the Welsh word "Brython," meaning "Briton" or "Brittonic."
One of the earliest recorded references to the name Britain can be found in the writings of Greek historians such as Diodorus Siculus and Strabo, who lived in the 1st century BC. They referred to the island as "Pretannia" or "Brettania," which was likely an adaptation of the native Celtic name. Additionally, the Roman historian Tacitus, writing in the 1st century AD, mentioned the "Britanni" as the inhabitants of the island.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Britain. One of the earliest is Britain ap Rhiwallon, a 10th-century Welsh prince who ruled the kingdom of Gwynedd. Another historic figure is Britain of Armorica, a 5th-century Brittonic leader who established a Brittonic kingdom in what is now Brittany, France.
In more recent times, Britain Woodman (1919-2003) was a British artist and sculptor known for his abstract works. Britain Salise (1878-1949) was an American composer and music educator who contributed to the development of music education in the United States. Britain Covey (1867-1952) was a prominent lawyer and judge in Utah, serving as the Chief Justice of the Utah Supreme Court from 1923 to 1933.
While the name Britain is not as common today as it once was, it remains a fascinating part of linguistic and cultural history, with its roots deeply intertwined with the ancient peoples and languages of the British Isles.
People
Britain + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Britain 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
Britain: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Britain?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,486 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Britain 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 230,656 US residents.
Is Britain a common name?
We classify Britain as "Rare". It ranks above 92.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,515 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Britain most popular?
The single biggest year for Britain was 2014, when 70 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Britain is about 21 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Britain a male name?
Yes, 53.5% of people registered as Britain 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.