Bryse
A masculine name of English origin likely meaning "curly-haired" or "hazel eyes".
Name Census estimates that about 163 living Americans carry the first name Bryse. It is a predominantly male name (96.4% of registrations). The average person named Bryse today is around 22 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Bryse births was 1998 (12 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Bryse. 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
163
~ 1 in 2,102,787 Americans
Peak year
1998
12 babies that year
Average age
22
years old
2018 SSA rank
#8,264
Tracked since 1987
Census
Bryse in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 221 people with the first name Bryse, which placed it at #36,071 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
#36,071
National first-name rank
People counted
221
221 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
68.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bryse
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Bryse is White at 68.8%. The next largest groups are Black (17.2%) and Two or More Races (7.2%). 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 Bryse 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 Bryse at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White68.8% · 152
- Black or African American17.2% · 38
- Two or more races7.2% · 16
- Hispanic or Latino5.0% · 11
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.8% · 4
Gender
Gender distribution for Bryse
Bryse leans heavily male at 96.4% of total registrations, but 6 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Bryse as a male name
- Ranked #8,264 in 2018
- 9 male births in 2018
- Peak: 2013 (11 births)
Bryse as a female name
- Ranked #12,697 in 1998
- 6 female births in 1998
- Peak: 1998 (6 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Bryse leans strongly male. 179 people counted with this name were male (80.3%), compared with 44 female bearers (19.7%).
Popularity
Bryse: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Bryse from the 1980s through to the 2010s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 63 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Bryse 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 Bryse 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 Bryse
The given name Bryse is of uncertain origin, with its roots shrouded in mystery. While some scholars suggest it may have derived from the Old English word "bryse," meaning "to break or crush," others point to potential Celtic or Germanic influences. Despite the lack of consensus, the name has been documented in various historical records and texts over the centuries.
One of the earliest known mentions of the name Bryse can be found in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, a collection of annals describing the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The name appears in an entry dated around 980 AD, referring to a minor nobleman from the Kingdom of Mercia. Unfortunately, little is known about this individual beyond his name and approximate time period.
In the 12th century, a Bryse de Monmouth was recorded as a knight and landowner in the Welsh Marches. His name appears in several charters and legal documents of the time, indicating his position of relative prominence within the region.
During the Renaissance period, a notable figure bearing the name Bryse was Bryse Whittington, a English merchant and explorer born in 1492. Whittington is credited with establishing trade routes between England and the East Indies, contributing to the expansion of British commercial interests in the region.
The 17th century saw the birth of Bryse Holbeck (1621-1698), an English politician and member of the House of Commons. Holbeck represented the borough of Scarborough and was known for his staunch support of the Parliamentarian cause during the English Civil War.
In more recent times, the name Bryse gained recognition through the life of Bryse Wilson (1923-2007), an American civil rights activist and educator. Wilson played a pivotal role in desegregating schools in the southern United States and advocating for equal educational opportunities for all children, regardless of race.
While the name Bryse may have obscure origins, its presence throughout various historical periods and across different cultures and regions is a testament to its enduring legacy. From noblemen and merchants to politicians and activists, individuals bearing this name have left an indelible mark on the annals of history.
People
Bryse + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Bryse 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
Bryse: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Bryse?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 163 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Bryse 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 2,102,787 US residents.
Is Bryse a common name?
We classify Bryse as "Very Rare". It ranks above 71.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 165 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Bryse most popular?
The single biggest year for Bryse was 1998, when 12 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Bryse is about 22 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Bryse in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 221 people with the name Bryse, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #36,071 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 Bryse 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 Bryse?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Bryse leans strongly male. 179 people counted with this name were male (80.3%), compared with 44 female bearers (19.7%). 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 Bryse?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Bryse is White at 68.8%. The next largest groups are Black (17.2%) and Two or More Races (7.2%). 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 Bryse most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Bryse in the 2020 Census, accounting for 68.8% (152 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 Bryse in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Bryse a male name?
Yes, 96.4% of people registered as Bryse 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.
Is Bryse still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Bryse 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 Bryse 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 Bryse?
Want to know how many people share the name Bryse? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.