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Brian

Meaning: Possibly 'noble, high, or valiant'
Origin: Irish (Breton ties) — From Old Breton Brient

Nicknames: Bri

Boy's name · #339 in the US (2025) · Retro

Popularity over time

Brian reached #8 in 1970 and has faded to #339 since. About 1.2 million boys have carried it since 1909.

Across the states

See where Brian is more common.

Appears in 2020-2025 birth records of 42 states. See the full state-by-state map on this page.

Around the world

See how Brian ranks in other countries and regions.

#237 in N. Ireland (2025) · #254 in Ireland (2025) · #270 in Scotland (2025) · #277 in Puerto Rico (2025) · #372 in Norway (2025) · #450 in Ecuador (2025) · #506 in Poland (2025) · #554 in Austria (2025) · #573 in England & Wales (2025) · #769 in Netherlands (2025) · #775 in Mexico (2024) · #977 in Sweden (2025) and 4 more.

Famous Brians

Brian May — British musician (born 1947)
Brian David Josephson — Welsh physicist
Brian Schmidt — American-born Australian astrophysicist
Brian De Palma — American film director and screenwriter
Brian Eno — British musician, music producer, music theorist and visual artist (born 1948)

In stories & tradition

Brian Griffin — Family Guy (TV series)
Brian O'Conner — Fast & Furious (film series)
Brian Kinney — Queer as Folk (TV series)

What Brians become

Among 7,229 notable people named Brian:

Sports figures appear 1.96× more often than among typical names — e.g. Brian Clough, English football player and manager (1935–2004).

Twin names

Popular twin pairings with Brian include Brandon for a boy, and Brianna for a girl.

Spellings & nicknames

Together with its spelling variant Bryan (#336), Brian would rank around #186 with about 2,000 births last year — the newborns split about 51/49 between Bryan and Brian.

Similar names: Bryan · Kevin · Bryce · Scott · Ryan · Shawn

Browse more boy names — popularity, trends and eras for 5,700+ American names, free.

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