Bryli
A diminutive form of the Welsh name Bryn, meaning "hill" or "mound".
Name Census estimates that about 182 living Americans carry the first name Bryli. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Bryli today is around 15 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Bryli births was 2009 (22 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Bryli. 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
182
~ 1 in 1,883,266 Americans
Peak year
2009
22 babies that year
Average age
15
years old
2021 SSA rank
#11,307
Tracked since 2002
Popularity
Bryli: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Bryli from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 96 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
Bryli 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 Bryli during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Bryli
The name Bryli is believed to have originated from the Old Norse language, which was spoken by the Germanic peoples of Scandinavia and their descendants during the Viking Age, from around the 8th to the 11th centuries. Its roots can be traced back to the Old Norse word "brylir," which means "to burn" or "to blaze."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Bryli can be found in the Icelandic Sagas, a collection of narratives that recount the lives and adventures of the Norse settlers in Iceland during the 9th to 11th centuries. In the Saga of Burnt Njal, a character named Bryli Thorgilsson is mentioned as a prominent chieftain and lawspeaker in the Althing, the ancient Icelandic parliament.
Throughout history, the name Bryli has been associated with various notable figures. In the 12th century, Bryli Skaldason was a renowned Icelandic skald, or poet, known for his intricate verse and mastery of the Old Norse poetic form known as dróttkvætt. His works were widely celebrated and preserved in the Codex Regius, a 13th-century manuscript that contains some of the most significant pieces of Old Norse literature.
In the 14th century, Bryli Eiriksson was a prominent explorer and navigator who is believed to have accompanied the legendary Norse voyager Leif Erikson on his expeditions to Vinland, the Norse term for the coastal regions of what is now eastern Canada. Bryli's name appears in several sagas and historical records, cementing his place in the annals of Norse exploration.
During the 16th century, Bryli Thorvaldsson was a respected Lutheran theologian and reformer from Iceland. He played a significant role in translating the Bible into Icelandic and was known for his scholarly contributions to the Protestant Reformation in the Nordic countries.
Another notable figure with the name Bryli was Bryli Jonsson, a 19th-century Icelandic poet and playwright. He was widely acclaimed for his lyrical works, which often drew inspiration from Icelandic folklore and the natural beauty of his homeland. His plays, which tackled social issues and explored the complexities of human relationships, were influential in shaping the development of modern Icelandic literature.
While the name Bryli may not be as common today as it once was, its historical significance and ties to the rich cultural heritage of the Norse peoples make it a fascinating and intriguing name with a deep-rooted legacy.
People
Bryli + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Bryli 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
Bryli: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Bryli?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 182 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Bryli 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 1,883,266 US residents.
Is Bryli a common name?
We classify Bryli as "Very Rare". It ranks above 72.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 184 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Bryli most popular?
The single biggest year for Bryli was 2009, when 22 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Bryli is about 15 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Bryli a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Bryli 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.
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.