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#1,000rank188019001920194019601980200020201965peak #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 1965

  • Rank in state
  • Top 10
  • 11–50
  • 51–100
  • 101–500
  • 501+
  • Not published
Alaska: #13 for boys · 43 births · 1 in 69 boysAKMaine: #18 for boys · 142 births · 1 in 65 boysMEVermont: #10 for boys · 85 births · 1 in 40 boysVTNew Hampshire: #10 for boys · 140 births · 1 in 41 boysNHWashington: #12 for boys · 430 births · 1 in 57 boysWAIdaho: #12 for boys · 96 births · 1 in 57 boysIDMontana: #15 for boys · 84 births · 1 in 70 boysMTNorth Dakota: #11 for boys · 136 births · 1 in 43 boysNDMinnesota: #15 for boys · 737 births · 1 in 46 boysMNIllinois: #15 for boys · 1,613 births · 1 in 61 boysILWisconsin: #12 for boys · 931 births · 1 in 43 boysWIMichigan: #15 for boys · 1,471 births · 1 in 54 boysMINew York: #22 for boys · 1,942 births · 1 in 84 boysNYMassachusetts: #15 for boys · 1,020 births · 1 in 50 boysMARhode Island: #18 for boys · 136 births · 1 in 61 boysRIOregon: #13 for boys · 263 births · 1 in 59 boysORNevada: #17 for boys · 49 births · 1 in 75 boysNVWyoming: #17 for boys · 35 births · 1 in 73 boysWYSouth Dakota: #11 for boys · 126 births · 1 in 48 boysSDIowa: #11 for boys · 557 births · 1 in 44 boysIAIndiana: #10 for boys · 979 births · 1 in 48 boysINOhio: #13 for boys · 1,625 births · 1 in 58 boysOHPennsylvania: #12 for boys · 1,880 births · 1 in 53 boysPANew Jersey: #20 for boys · 821 births · 1 in 71 boysNJConnecticut: #18 for boys · 370 births · 1 in 68 boysCTCalifornia: #17 for boys · 2,230 births · 1 in 78 boysCAUtah: #16 for boys · 132 births · 1 in 77 boysUTColorado: #15 for boys · 233 births · 1 in 77 boysCONebraska: #11 for boys · 267 births · 1 in 48 boysNEMissouri: #16 for boys · 562 births · 1 in 71 boysMOKentucky: #25 for boys · 289 births · 1 in 102 boysKYWest Virginia: #14 for boys · 251 births · 1 in 60 boysWVVirginia: #19 for boys · 437 births · 1 in 89 boysVAMaryland: #14 for boys · 515 births · 1 in 60 boysMDDelaware: #17 for boys · 70 births · 1 in 65 boysDEArizona: #18 for boys · 168 births · 1 in 91 boysAZNew Mexico: #27 for boys · 85 births · 1 in 127 boysNMKansas: #8 for boys · 331 births · 1 in 53 boysKSArkansas: #41 for boys · 115 births · 1 in 148 boysARTennessee: #38 for boys · 240 births · 1 in 146 boysTNNorth Carolina: #31 for boys · 345 births · 1 in 132 boysNCSouth Carolina: #32 for boys · 170 births · 1 in 141 boysSCDistrict of Columbia: #22 for boys · 162 births · 1 in 80 boysDCOklahoma: #13 for boys · 250 births · 1 in 77 boysOKLouisiana: #21 for boys · 354 births · 1 in 103 boysLAMississippi: #59 for boys · 87 births · 1 in 258 boysMSAlabama: #43 for boys · 184 births · 1 in 176 boysALGeorgia: #39 for boys · 279 births · 1 in 160 boysGAHawaii: #18 for boys · 76 births · 1 in 88 boysHITexas: #35 for boys · 637 births · 1 in 163 boysTXFlorida: #29 for boys · 372 births · 1 in 133 boysFL

Hover or tap a state for its numbers.

Top states · boys
  1. Kansas#8 · 1 in 53
  2. Vermont#10 · 1 in 40
  3. New Hampshire#10 · 1 in 41
  4. Indiana#10 · 1 in 48
  5. North Dakota#11 · 1 in 43

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

Show every state
StateRankBirthsShare
Kansas#83311 in 53
Indiana#109791 in 48
New Hampshire#101401 in 41
Vermont#10851 in 40
Iowa#115571 in 44
Nebraska#112671 in 48
North Dakota#111361 in 43
South Dakota#111261 in 48
Idaho#12961 in 57
Pennsylvania#121,8801 in 53
Washington#124301 in 57
Wisconsin#129311 in 43
Alaska#13431 in 69
Ohio#131,6251 in 58
Oklahoma#132501 in 77
Oregon#132631 in 59
Maryland#145151 in 60
West Virginia#142511 in 60
Colorado#152331 in 77
Illinois#151,6131 in 61
Massachusetts#151,0201 in 50
Michigan#151,4711 in 54
Minnesota#157371 in 46
Montana#15841 in 70
Missouri#165621 in 71
Utah#161321 in 77
California#172,2301 in 78
Delaware#17701 in 65
Nevada#17491 in 75
Wyoming#17351 in 73
Arizona#181681 in 91
Connecticut#183701 in 68
Hawaii#18761 in 88
Maine#181421 in 65
Rhode Island#181361 in 61
Virginia#194371 in 89
New Jersey#208211 in 71
Louisiana#213541 in 103
District of Columbia#221621 in 80
New York#221,9421 in 84
Kentucky#252891 in 102
New Mexico#27851 in 127
Florida#293721 in 133
North Carolina#313451 in 132
South Carolina#321701 in 141
Texas#356371 in 163
Tennessee#382401 in 146
Georgia#392791 in 160
Arkansas#411151 in 148
Alabama#431841 in 176
Mississippi#59871 in 258

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 1965

girls
#1,274
71 births · 1 in 24,861 girls
boys
#19
24,552 births · 1 in 76 boys

Top girls' names in 1965

  1. #1Lisa60,271
  2. #2Mary34,270
  3. #3Karen32,869
  4. #4Kimberly28,836
  5. #5Susan26,321
  6. #6Patricia23,552
  7. #7Donna19,700
  8. #8Linda19,345
  9. #9Cynthia19,239
  10. #10Angela18,754
  11. #1,274Brian71

Top boys' names in 1965

  1. #1Michael80,992
  2. #2John71,493
  3. #3David67,825
  4. #4James67,666
  5. #5Robert63,106
  6. #6William40,111
  7. #7Mark38,244
  8. #8Richard36,817
  9. #9Thomas31,595
  10. #10Jeffrey29,574
  11. #19Brian24,552
More about 1965

girls

1,765,164 girls got a published name in 1965; 1 in 24,861 of them was named Brian, which outranked 83.1% of the 7,535 girls' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 16.0% of girls (24.6% in 1880, 7.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Brian
  1. #1,263Nicki72
  2. #1,263Roseanna72
  3. #1,263Socorro72
  4. #1,274Brian71
  5. #1,274Chiquita71
  6. #1,274Cori71
  7. #1,274Deedra71
  8. #1,292Darline70
  9. #1,292Jodee70
  10. #1,292Karlene70

Tied with 17 names at #1,274; 3 shown. Tied names share a rank, as in SSA's lists.

Biggest movers since 1964
Risers
  1. ↑ 723Marni#1,610 → #887
  2. ↑ 654Dionne#1,281 → #627
  3. ↑ 432Marnie#1,016 → #584
  4. ↑ 426Keli#1,383 → #957
  5. ↑ 368Gia#1,334 → #966
Fallers
  1. ↓ 1,326Djuna#738 → #2,064
  2. ↓ 470Djuana#756 → #1,226
  3. ↓ 383Shirl#714 → #1,097
  4. ↓ 297Beverley#955 → #1,252
  5. ↓ 275Dottie#912 → #1,187

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

boys

1,860,143 boys got a published name in 1965; 1 in 76 of them was named Brian, which outranked 99.6% of the 4,425 boys' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 28.4% of boys (44.2% in 1880, 8.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Brian
  1. #16Paul24,919
  2. #17Daniel24,833
  3. #18Christopher24,640
  4. #19Brian24,552
  5. #20Charles23,494
  6. #21Kenneth22,677
  7. #22Anthony20,326
Biggest movers since 1964
Risers
  1. ↑ 785Trace#1,655 → #870
  2. ↑ 729Darran#1,729 → #1,000
  3. ↑ 655Daryn#1,371 → #716
  4. ↑ 648Darian#1,545 → #897
  5. ↑ 512Darryn#1,327 → #815
Fallers
  1. ↓ 1,557Jaimie#809 → #2,366
  2. ↓ 443Tammy#875 → #1,318
  3. ↓ 406Destry#637 → #1,043
  4. ↓ 318Dewitt#936 → #1,254
  5. ↓ 303Cassius#860 → #1,163

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

See the top 100 for 1965 →