Brylan
A modern combination name blending "Bryan" and "Ian".
Name Census estimates that about 1,292 living Americans carry the first name Brylan. It is a predominantly male name (94.1% of registrations). The average person named Brylan today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Brylan births was 2012 (105 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Brylan. 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
- • Brylan is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 14 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
1.3K
~ 1 in 265,290 Americans
Peak year
2012
105 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,457
Tracked since 1994
Gender
Gender distribution for Brylan
Brylan leans heavily male at 94.1% of total registrations, but 77 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Brylan as a male name
- Ranked #3,457 in 2024
- 33 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2012 (93 births)
Brylan as a female name
- Ranked #16,930 in 2015
- 5 female births in 2015
- Peak: 2008 (12 births)
Popularity
Brylan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Brylan from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 695 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
Brylan 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 Brylan during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Brylans live
The SSA's state-level files cover 15 states and territories. Texas, Tennessee, Louisiana recorded the most babies named Brylan, while Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 23 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Brylan
The given name Brylan is a relatively modern invention, with its origins rooted in the late 20th century. While the exact source and coining of the name remain unclear, it is believed to be a blend of two more established names: Bryan and Dylan.
Bryan is a masculine name of Irish origin, derived from the Gaelic word "brían," meaning "strong" or "virtuous." This name has a long and storied history, with records of its use dating back to the 5th century. In medieval times, it was popularized by figures such as the Irish king and patron saint, Brian Boru, who ruled from 976 to 1014.
Dylan, on the other hand, is a Welsh name derived from the elements "dylan," meaning "great tide" or "great sea," and "llan," meaning "land" or "territory." The name gained prominence in the literary world through the famous Welsh poet Dylan Thomas, who lived from 1914 to 1953.
The blending of these two names, resulting in Brylan, likely emerged in the late 20th century as a means of creating a unique and distinctive moniker. While the name itself does not appear to be associated with any specific historical figures or events, its components carry rich cultural and linguistic heritage.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Brylan can be found in the United States, where a few individuals bearing this name were born in the latter part of the 20th century. Among them are Brylan Guzman, an American musician and songwriter born in 1989, and Brylan McCoy, a former American football player born in 1993.
Other notable individuals with the name Brylan include Brylan Barr, a Canadian actor and model born in 1996, and Brylan Landers, an American professional basketball player born in 1997. Additionally, Brylan Shalander, a Canadian ice hockey player born in 2001, has also gained recognition in his sport.
While the name Brylan may be relatively new and its historical significance limited, its unique blend of linguistic and cultural elements has contributed to its growing popularity in recent decades, particularly in North America and other English-speaking regions.
People
Brylan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Brylan 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
Brylan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Brylan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,292 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Brylan 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 265,290 US residents.
Is Brylan a common name?
We classify Brylan as "Rare". It ranks above 91.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,304 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Brylan most popular?
The single biggest year for Brylan was 2012, when 105 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Brylan is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Brylan a male name?
Yes, 94.1% of people registered as Brylan 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.