NameTides

Brian

Brian was the #339 boys' name in the US in 2025 (979 babies), and #573 in England & Wales and #486 in Canada.

Brian as a boy’s name

  • US
  • England & Wales
  • Scotland
  • Northern Ireland
  • Ireland
  • Canada
  • NSW
Brian as a boy’s name, US, England & Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Ireland, Canada, NSWBabies per 1,000 in the published list, 1880–2025, for US, England & Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Ireland, Canada. Gaps mark years with too few babies to be published.012.52537.55018801900192019401960198020002020Northern IrelandIrelandScotlandUSCanadaEngland & Wales
Brian as a boy’s name, US, England & Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Ireland, Canada, NSWBabies per 1,000 in the published list, 1880–2025, for US, England & Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Ireland, Canada. Gaps mark years with too few babies to be published.012.52537.5501880192019602000
Babies per 1,000 of the same sex in each published list. New South Wales publishes its top 100 only, so it appears in the rank view and only in years the name made the top 100. Breaks in a line are years with too few babies to be published.
Show the numbers
YearUSEngland & WalesScotlandNorthern IrelandIrelandCanadaNSW
2025#339 (979)#573 (68)#269 (14)#237 (8)#252 (18)#486 (62)—
2024#302 (1,116)#538 (71)#535 (5)#256 (7)#187 (26)#431 (72)—
2023#317 (1,049)#500 (79)#366 (9)#395 (3)#193 (26)#422 (69)—
2022#289 (1,180)#480 (83)#590 (4)#285 (6)#192 (27)#445 (64)—
2021#288 (1,188)#501 (79)#477 (6)#326 (5)#178 (30)#472 (62)—
2020#271 (1,261)#587 (61)#599 (4)#186 (11)#204 (24)#403 (76)—
2019#247 (1,479)#526 (72)#516 (5)—#140 (43)#357 (87)—
2018#235 (1,631)#449 (91)#392 (8)#283 (6)#116 (56)#302 (113)—
2017#216 (1,778)#480 (85)#352 (10)#171 (14)#127 (49)#308 (109)—
2016#204 (1,984)#406 (105)#247 (18)#253 (7)#146 (44)#317 (109)—
2015#188 (2,218)#383 (114)#264 (16)#259 (7)#95 (76)#309 (107)—
2014#168 (2,536)#378 (108)#232 (21)#164 (16)#109 (70)#254 (138)—
2013#150 (2,645)#399 (102)#247 (17)#130 (21)#92 (81)#265 (127)—
2012#141 (2,820)#378 (111)#191 (29)#191 (11)#91 (90)#268 (125)—
2011#122 (3,250)#356 (121)#224 (19)#188 (12)#92 (88)#263 (123)—

The tide so far

  • Peaked in the US in 1973 at #8.
  • Falling over the last five years.
  • First recorded in the US in 1909.

How common is it?

about 1 in 1,700 baby boys in the published US list for 2025.

In a group of 1,000 children born that year, you would expect to meet about 1. How we work this out.

How common, country by country

WhereSexLatest yearShareVerdict
USBoys2025about 1 in 1,700uncommon
England & WalesBoys2025about 1 in 4,000uncommon
ScotlandBoys2025about 1 in 1,400uncommon
Northern IrelandBoys2025about 1 in 1,000uncommon
IrelandBoys2025about 1 in 1,300uncommon
CanadaBoys2025about 1 in 2,600uncommon

Next year

On its recent trend, Brian is likely to hold steady in the US in 2026: about 1 in 1,800 baby boys. Likely range 1 in 1,600 to 1 in 1,900.

Estimate, not an official figure. How we estimate.

Across the US

Brian by state, 2025Alaska: fewer than 5 babiesAKMaine: fewer than 5 babiesMEWisconsin: #523WIVermont: fewer than 5 babiesVTNew Hampshire: fewer than 5 babiesNHWashington: #336WAIdaho: #435IDMontana: fewer than 5 babiesMTNorth Dakota: #191NDMinnesota: #477MNIllinois: #277ILMichigan: #375MINew York: #359NYMassachusetts: #238MAOregon: #474ORNevada: #299NVWyoming: fewer than 5 babiesWYSouth Dakota: fewer than 5 babiesSDIowa: #493IAIndiana: #350INOhio: #287OHPennsylvania: #290PANew Jersey: #251NJConnecticut: #326CTRhode Island: fewer than 5 babiesRICalifornia: #325CAUtah: #409UTColorado: #346CONebraska: #377NEMissouri: #281MOKentucky: #253KYWest Virginia: #299WVVirginia: #296VAMaryland: #285MDDelaware: #168DEArizona: #491AZNew Mexico: fewer than 5 babiesNMKansas: fewer than 5 babiesKSArkansas: fewer than 5 babiesARTennessee: #477TNNorth Carolina: #407NCSouth Carolina: #327SCDistrict of Columbia: #168DCOklahoma: #464OKLouisiana: #353LAMississippi: #471MSAlabama: #422ALGeorgia: #407GAHawaii: fewer than 5 babiesHITexas: #368TXFlorida: #231FL
Brian (boys) rank in each state, 2025. Hatched states recorded fewer than 5 babies.
  • #1–10
  • #11–50
  • #51–100
  • #101–500
  • below #500

Across Canada

ProvinceYearRankBabies
Ontario2024#35238
Quebec2025#5138

Brian (boys): rank in each province’s latest list. Only Quebec and Ontario publish full name lists; Ontario’s latest list is a year behind.

Spellings

Official statistics count each spelling separately, so we show them side by side rather than adding them up.

SpellingWhereSexLatest rankBabies
BrianCanadaBoys#48662
BrianEngland & WalesBoys#57368
BrianIrelandBoys#25218
BríanIrelandBoys—too few
BrianNorthern IrelandBoys#2378
BrianNSWBoys—too few
BrianScotlandBoys#26914
BrianUSGirls—too few
BrianUSBoys#339979