Brien

Where Brien comes from

Brien hasn't made it into the dictionaries we draw on, and nobody well known enough for an encyclopedia has carried it yet — so for now its story is the one the SSA record tells. Names that spell a familiar sound a new way often live here for a while before anyone writes them down.

Along the way
  1. 1903
    Brien McMahon born
    American politician
  2. 1925
    First appearance
    #4,197 among boys, 5 babies — the first year at least five got the name.
  3. 1934
    Brien Cobcroft born
    Australian equestrian
  4. 1963
    Peak, #766
    99 babies named Brien — more than any year before or since.
  5. 1977
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births — down to #1,312.
In the dictionary

No dictionary entry for this spelling — which is its own kind of rare.

Namesakes
  • Brien McMahon · American politician, 1903–1952
  • Brien Cobcroft · Australian equestrian, 1934–2010

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.