Brian

Last seen for girls in 2015 at #16,419 · #339 for boys in 2025, 979 births
Given to boys 99.6% of the time

Showing
Show data for
Peak · boys
1972 · 36,306 births
Debut · boys
5 births
In top 100 · boys
63 yrs
of 146 years
Total births · boys
1,173,735
since 1909

Brian over time

boys

Rank among boys' names. Click any year to open it.

#1#10#100#1,000rank188019001920194019601980200020201963peak #8, 1972boys
Hover or use arrow keys to read values by year; click or press Enter to open that year.

Gaps mean fewer than 5 babies received the name that year, so the SSA doesn't publish it.

Show data table
Yeargirlsboys
rankbirthsrankbirths
2025—#339979
2024—#3021,116
2023—#3171,049
2022—#2891,180
2021—#2881,188
2020—#2711,261
2019—#2471,479
2018—#2351,631
2017—#2161,778
2016—#2041,984
2015#16,4195#1882,218
2014—#1682,536
2013#16,5475#1502,645
2012#9,71111#1412,820
2011#16,7645#1223,250
2010#12,2768#1013,766
2009#15,2426#944,658
2008#11,5999#875,263
2007#5,89523#816,075
2006#12,4208#726,511
2005#5,26624#636,920
2004#3,49042#597,333
2003#5,79520#597,672
2002#5,89719#518,082
2001#6,61916#468,303
2000#4,07930#438,958
1999#5,21920#438,808
1998#4,36625#419,146
1997#4,37024#379,739
1996#3,72329#3610,476
1995#2,42153#3610,991
1994#3,16836#3711,648
1993#2,72544#3412,544
1992#2,83042#3114,107
1991#2,55048#3014,915
1990#2,40251#2716,935
1989#1,87370#2418,106
1988#1,196126#2219,532
1987#1,162126#2020,362
1986#1,057142#2021,027
1985#1,071137#1823,069
1984#979147#1724,720
1983#947156#1426,050
1982#1,005147#1425,829
1981#1,009144#1426,583
1980#884173#1228,715
1979#931158#1028,659
1978#858171#929,432
1977#829181#832,492
1976#870155#830,517
1975#878151#830,578
1974#912138#834,449
1973#820160#835,686
1972#796171#836,306
1971#886150#932,624
1970#891148#831,917
1969#932130#931,669
1968#1,013105#1029,922
1967#1,002104#1028,646
1966#1,11989#1427,253
1965#1,27471#1924,552
1964#1,41963#2024,167
1963#1,50855#2024,133
1962#1,42960#2023,221
1961#1,80740#2022,566
1960#1,54252#2022,000
1959#1,76539#2220,737
1958#1,76238#2419,279
1957#2,16826#2617,519
1956#2,62219#3214,666
1955#2,28023#4010,109
1954#3,32512#488,078
1953#3,68710#536,665
1952#3,04013#645,741
1951#4,0118#755,101
1950#5,3015#794,441
1949#4,6736#863,854
1948#4,6516#953,358
1947#3,06112#953,450
1946#3,6658#1032,585
1945#4,5565#1131,989
1944—#1161,954
1943#3,04010#1201,950
1942—#1391,523
1941—#1531,123
1940—#1631,007
1939—#176808
1938—#204609
1937—#228519
1936—#289344
1935—#347254
1934—#402187
1933—#450150
1932—#538119
1931—#61693
1930—#64590
1929—#557112
1928—#603104
1927—#75475
1926—#1,01047
1925—#87159
1924—#1,16938
1923—#1,21335
1922—#1,30831
1921—#1,25234
1920—#1,30031
1919—#2,15214
1918—#2,39812
1917—#2,09114
1916—#1,77117
1915—#1,50521
1914—#1,97511
1913—#1,44114
1912—#2,2696
1911—#1,3877
1910——
1909—#1,4405
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First appearance
1909

The first year at least five boys were named Brian! It came in at #1,440, and was given to 5 baby boys.


Quietest stretch: 1909–1910, when fewer than 6 boys a year got the name.

Where Brian is popular in 1963

  • Rank in state
  • Top 10
  • 11–50
  • 51–100
  • 101–500
  • 501+
  • Not published
Alaska: #20 for boys · 40 births · 1 in 81 boysAKMaine: #16 for boys · 169 births · 1 in 60 boysMEVermont: #10 for boys · 95 births · 1 in 39 boysVTNew Hampshire: #12 for boys · 140 births · 1 in 44 boysNHWashington: #11 for boys · 485 births · 1 in 60 boysWAIdaho: #12 for boys · 101 births · 1 in 62 boysIDMontana: #13 for boys · 113 births · 1 in 61 boysMTNorth Dakota: #12 for boys · 147 births · 1 in 46 boysNDMinnesota: #15 for boys · 757 births · 1 in 51 boysMNIllinois: #17 for boys · 1,565 births · 1 in 69 boysILWisconsin: #13 for boys · 921 births · 1 in 48 boysWIMichigan: #14 for boys · 1,527 births · 1 in 56 boysMINew York: #23 for boys · 1,945 births · 1 in 90 boysNYMassachusetts: #14 for boys · 1,080 births · 1 in 51 boysMARhode Island: #21 for boys · 122 births · 1 in 70 boysRIOregon: #10 for boys · 287 births · 1 in 57 boysORNevada: #21 for boys · 46 births · 1 in 80 boysNVWyoming: #17 for boys · 38 births · 1 in 78 boysWYSouth Dakota: #13 for boys · 127 births · 1 in 58 boysSDIowa: #11 for boys · 592 births · 1 in 47 boysIAIndiana: #13 for boys · 933 births · 1 in 55 boysINOhio: #16 for boys · 1,550 births · 1 in 67 boysOHPennsylvania: #14 for boys · 1,771 births · 1 in 62 boysPANew Jersey: #20 for boys · 817 births · 1 in 76 boysNJConnecticut: #15 for boys · 419 births · 1 in 62 boysCTCalifornia: #16 for boys · 2,303 births · 1 in 82 boysCAUtah: #13 for boys · 156 births · 1 in 73 boysUTColorado: #17 for boys · 240 births · 1 in 87 boysCONebraska: #18 for boys · 231 births · 1 in 66 boysNEMissouri: #16 for boys · 556 births · 1 in 80 boysMOKentucky: #35 for boys · 232 births · 1 in 143 boysKYWest Virginia: #21 for boys · 205 births · 1 in 83 boysWVVirginia: #23 for boys · 387 births · 1 in 111 boysVAMaryland: #17 for boys · 459 births · 1 in 71 boysMDDelaware: #15 for boys · 78 births · 1 in 65 boysDEArizona: #18 for boys · 167 births · 1 in 99 boysAZNew Mexico: #29 for boys · 97 births · 1 in 126 boysNMKansas: #13 for boys · 309 births · 1 in 67 boysKSArkansas: #49 for boys · 97 births · 1 in 201 boysARTennessee: #48 for boys · 196 births · 1 in 195 boysTNNorth Carolina: #46 for boys · 274 births · 1 in 184 boysNCSouth Carolina: #45 for boys · 138 births · 1 in 195 boysSCDistrict of Columbia: #24 for boys · 164 births · 1 in 89 boysDCOklahoma: #24 for boys · 208 births · 1 in 108 boysOKLouisiana: #24 for boys · 323 births · 1 in 123 boysLAMississippi: #86 for boys · 71 births · 1 in 364 boysMSAlabama: #51 for boys · 166 births · 1 in 211 boysALGeorgia: #48 for boys · 227 births · 1 in 207 boysGAHawaii: #12 for boys · 105 births · 1 in 70 boysHITexas: #42 for boys · 600 births · 1 in 192 boysTXFlorida: #29 for boys · 357 births · 1 in 150 boysFL

Hover or tap a state for its numbers.

Top states · boys
  1. Vermont#10 · 1 in 39
  2. Oregon#10 · 1 in 57
  3. Iowa#11 · 1 in 47
  4. Washington#11 · 1 in 60
  5. New Hampshire#12 · 1 in 44

Best ever in a state: #2 in Pennsylvania, 1973.

Show every state
StateRankBirthsShare
Oregon#102871 in 57
Vermont#10951 in 39
Iowa#115921 in 47
Washington#114851 in 60
Hawaii#121051 in 70
Idaho#121011 in 62
New Hampshire#121401 in 44
North Dakota#121471 in 46
Indiana#139331 in 55
Kansas#133091 in 67
Montana#131131 in 61
South Dakota#131271 in 58
Utah#131561 in 73
Wisconsin#139211 in 48
Massachusetts#141,0801 in 51
Michigan#141,5271 in 56
Pennsylvania#141,7711 in 62
Connecticut#154191 in 62
Delaware#15781 in 65
Minnesota#157571 in 51
California#162,3031 in 82
Maine#161691 in 60
Missouri#165561 in 80
Ohio#161,5501 in 67
Colorado#172401 in 87
Illinois#171,5651 in 69
Maryland#174591 in 71
Wyoming#17381 in 78
Arizona#181671 in 99
Nebraska#182311 in 66
Alaska#20401 in 81
New Jersey#208171 in 76
Nevada#21461 in 80
Rhode Island#211221 in 70
West Virginia#212051 in 83
New York#231,9451 in 90
Virginia#233871 in 111
District of Columbia#241641 in 89
Louisiana#243231 in 123
Oklahoma#242081 in 108
Florida#293571 in 150
New Mexico#29971 in 126
Kentucky#352321 in 143
Texas#426001 in 192
South Carolina#451381 in 195
North Carolina#462741 in 184
Georgia#482271 in 207
Tennessee#481961 in 195
Arkansas#49971 in 201
Alabama#511661 in 211
Mississippi#86711 in 364

Ranks are within each state; “1 in N” is out of the boys born there that year. The SSA only publishes a name in a state when 5 or more babies of one sex got it.

See more about Brian
Momentum · boys
Falling
  • 37 spots since 2024 (#302 → #339)
  • 68 spots since 2020 (#271 → #339)
  • 151 spots since 2015 (#188 → #339)
  • Biggest jump: 298 spots in 1925 (#1,169 → #871)
  • Biggest drop: 139 spots in 1926 (#871 → #1,010)
Rise & fade · boys
63 yrs to peak
  • Debuted 1909
  • Peaked 1972 at #8 (36,306 births)
  • Births halved by 1989, 17 yrs later
Top of the charts · boys
Top 10 for 13 yrs
  • Top 10: 13 yrs · run 1967–1979
  • Top 100: 63 yrs · run 1947–2009
  • Top 1,000: 100 yrs · run 1927–2025
Share of babies · boys
1 in 44
  • Highest: 1 in 44 boys born in 1973 were named Brian (2.3%)
  • Latest: 1 in 1,745 boys born in 2025 (0.06%)
  • Its best rank, #8 in 1972, was only 1 in 45 (2.2%) — a smaller share of a much bigger birth year
Era · boys
The 1970s
  • 27.5% of all boys named Brian (322,660) were born in this decade
Show by decade
DecadeBirthsBest rankAvg rank
1900s5#1,440 (1909)#1,440
1910s116#1,387 (1911)#1,888
1920s566#557 (1929)#1,004
1930s3,173#176 (1939)#390
1940s22,793#86 (1949)#118
1950s112,336#22 (1959)#46
1960s258,129#9 (1969)#16
1970s322,660#8 (1972)#8
1980s233,993#12 (1980)#18
1990s119,309#27 (1990)#35
2000s69,775#43 (2000)#66
2010s24,107#101 (2010)#177
2020s6,773#271 (2020)#301

All figures count published births only (names given to at least 5 boys in a year). Registrations before 1937 are incomplete, so early shares and totals run low.

Brian in 1963

girls
#1,508
55 births · 1 in 35,046 girls
boys
#20
24,133 births · 1 in 84 boys

Top girls' names in 1963

  1. #1Lisa56,047
  2. #2Mary41,546
  3. #3Susan33,991
  4. #4Karen32,492
  5. #5Linda27,727
  6. #6Donna25,405
  7. #7Patricia25,374
  8. #8Lori23,899
  9. #9Sandra21,621
  10. #10Cynthia21,589
  11. #1,508Brian55

Top boys' names in 1963

  1. #1Michael83,771
  2. #2John78,636
  3. #3David78,444
  4. #4James71,294
  5. #5Robert70,007
  6. #6Mark49,342
  7. #7William44,453
  8. #8Richard40,772
  9. #9Thomas35,490
  10. #10Jeffrey31,701
  11. #20Brian24,133
More about 1963

girls

1,927,507 girls got a published name in 1963; 1 in 35,046 of them was named Brian, which outranked 80.3% of the 7,661 girls' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 16.1% of girls (24.6% in 1880, 7.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Brian
  1. #1,489Tawanna56
  2. #1,489Teddi56
  3. #1,489Vonnie56
  4. #1,508Brian55
  5. #1,508Alena55
  6. #1,508Chana55
  7. #1,508Charline55
  8. #1,522Arnita54
  9. #1,522Cordelia54
  10. #1,522Debroah54

Tied with 13 names at #1,508; 3 shown. Tied names share a rank, as in SSA's lists.

Biggest movers since 1962
Risers
  1. ↑ 631Zena#1,323 → #692
  2. ↑ 623Zina#992 → #369
  3. ↑ 540Trisha#1,020 → #480
  4. ↑ 457Shirl#1,304 → #847
  5. ↑ 396Glynis#992 → #596
Fallers
  1. ↓ 1,195Marnita#727 → #1,922
  2. ↓ 255Velvet#623 → #878
  3. ↓ 235Delphine#904 → #1,139
  4. ↓ 224Rosita#934 → #1,158
  5. ↓ 197Lindy#885 → #1,082

Among names in the top 1,000 of either year.

boys

2,031,078 boys got a published name in 1963; 1 in 84 of them was named Brian, which outranked 99.6% of the 4,621 boys' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 28.7% of boys (44.2% in 1880, 8.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Brian
  1. #17Paul26,672
  2. #18Kenneth25,235
  3. #19Daniel24,815
  4. #20Brian24,133
  5. #21Gregory21,420
  6. #22Anthony20,250
  7. #23Ronald19,780
Biggest movers since 1962
Risers
  1. ↑ 1,551Tal#2,364 → #813
  2. ↑ 1,141Jaimie#1,962 → #821
  3. ↑ 540Stoney#1,038 → #498
  4. ↑ 364Pamela#1,311 → #947
  5. ↑ 331Giovanni#1,242 → #911
Fallers
  1. ↓ 324Olin#871 → #1,195
  2. ↓ 295Enoch#984 → #1,279
  3. ↓ 285Rand#953 → #1,238
  4. ↓ 283Vernell#996 → #1,279
  5. ↓ 269Bentley#926 → #1,195

Among names in the top 1,000 of either year.

See the top 100 for 1963 →