Popularity of the name Brian, 1909–2025
Brian was at its most popular in 1973, when 35,686 boys were given the name: about 1 in 44 boys born in the U.S. that year, ranking #8. In 2025, 979 boys were named Brian, ranking #339. In all, Social Security counts 1,173,735 boys named Brian since 1909. Social Security’s records also list 4,563 girls named Brian.
- Peak year
- 1973
- Rank in 1973
- #8
- Babies in 1973
- 35,686
- Rank in 2025
- #339
- Total since 1909
- 1,173,735
Where it stands now
Over the last ten years it has slipped from #188 in 2015 to #339 in 2025, with 2,218 boys named Brian in 2015 and 979 in 2025.
Decade by decade
Brian ranked highest in the 1970s, at #8, with 322,660 boys given the name that decade. It ranked #2,147 in the 1900s and #301 in the 2020s so far.
Every 20 years in the records: 31 in 1920 (#1,300), 1,007 in 1940 (#163), 22,000 in 1960 (#20), 28,715 in 1980 (#12), 8,958 in 2000 (#43) and 1,261 in 2020 (#271).
Highs and lows
The most boys given the name in a single year was 36,306, in 1972. That is not its peak year: Social Security’s records hold more boys for 1972 than for 1973, so the name’s share of births was smaller. Its best rank in any year was #8, first reached in 1970.
Every year
The table lists every year from 1909 to 2025 in which Social Security recorded at least 5 boys named Brian, with the name’s rank that year.
| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1909 | 5 | #1,440 |
| 1911 | 7 | #1,387 |
| 1912 | 6 | #2,269 |
| 1913 | 14 | #1,441 |
| 1914 | 11 | #1,975 |
| 1915 | 21 | #1,505 |
| 1916 | 17 | #1,771 |
| 1917 | 14 | #2,091 |
| 1918 | 12 | #2,398 |
| 1919 | 14 | #2,152 |
| 1920 | 31 | #1,300 |
| 1921 | 34 | #1,252 |
| 1922 | 31 | #1,308 |
| 1923 | 35 | #1,213 |
| 1924 | 38 | #1,169 |
| 1925 | 59 | #871 |
| 1926 | 47 | #1,010 |
| 1927 | 75 | #754 |
| 1928 | 104 | #603 |
| 1929 | 112 | #557 |
| 1930 | 90 | #645 |
| 1931 | 93 | #616 |
| 1932 | 119 | #538 |
| 1933 | 150 | #450 |
| 1934 | 187 | #402 |
| 1935 | 254 | #347 |
| 1936 | 344 | #289 |
| 1937 | 519 | #228 |
| 1938 | 609 | #204 |
| 1939 | 808 | #176 |
| 1940 | 1,007 | #163 |
| 1941 | 1,123 | #153 |
| 1942 | 1,523 | #139 |
| 1943 | 1,950 | #120 |
| 1944 | 1,954 | #116 |
| 1945 | 1,989 | #113 |
| 1946 | 2,585 | #103 |
| 1947 | 3,450 | #95 |
| 1948 | 3,358 | #95 |
| 1949 | 3,854 | #86 |
| 1950 | 4,441 | #79 |
| 1951 | 5,101 | #75 |
| 1952 | 5,741 | #64 |
| 1953 | 6,665 | #53 |
| 1954 | 8,078 | #48 |
| 1955 | 10,109 | #40 |
| 1956 | 14,666 | #32 |
| 1957 | 17,519 | #26 |
| 1958 | 19,279 | #24 |
| 1959 | 20,737 | #22 |
| 1960 | 22,000 | #20 |
| 1961 | 22,566 | #20 |
| 1962 | 23,221 | #20 |
| 1963 | 24,133 | #20 |
| 1964 | 24,167 | #20 |
| 1965 | 24,552 | #19 |
| 1966 | 27,253 | #14 |
| 1967 | 28,646 | #10 |
| 1968 | 29,922 | #10 |
| 1969 | 31,669 | #9 |
| 1970 | 31,917 | #8 |
| 1971 | 32,624 | #9 |
| 1972 | 36,306 | #8 |
| 1973 | 35,686 | #8 |
| 1974 | 34,449 | #8 |
| 1975 | 30,578 | #8 |
| 1976 | 30,517 | #8 |
| 1977 | 32,492 | #8 |
| 1978 | 29,432 | #9 |
| 1979 | 28,659 | #10 |
| 1980 | 28,715 | #12 |
| 1981 | 26,583 | #14 |
| 1982 | 25,829 | #14 |
| 1983 | 26,050 | #14 |
| 1984 | 24,720 | #17 |
| 1985 | 23,069 | #18 |
| 1986 | 21,027 | #20 |
| 1987 | 20,362 | #20 |
| 1988 | 19,532 | #22 |
| 1989 | 18,106 | #24 |
| 1990 | 16,935 | #27 |
| 1991 | 14,915 | #30 |
| 1992 | 14,107 | #31 |
| 1993 | 12,544 | #34 |
| 1994 | 11,648 | #37 |
| 1995 | 10,991 | #36 |
| 1996 | 10,476 | #36 |
| 1997 | 9,739 | #37 |
| 1998 | 9,146 | #41 |
| 1999 | 8,808 | #43 |
| 2000 | 8,958 | #43 |
| 2001 | 8,303 | #46 |
| 2002 | 8,082 | #51 |
| 2003 | 7,672 | #59 |
| 2004 | 7,333 | #59 |
| 2005 | 6,920 | #63 |
| 2006 | 6,511 | #72 |
| 2007 | 6,075 | #81 |
| 2008 | 5,263 | #87 |
| 2009 | 4,658 | #94 |
| 2010 | 3,766 | #101 |
| 2011 | 3,250 | #122 |
| 2012 | 2,820 | #141 |
| 2013 | 2,645 | #150 |
| 2014 | 2,536 | #168 |
| 2015 | 2,218 | #188 |
| 2016 | 1,984 | #204 |
| 2017 | 1,778 | #216 |
| 2018 | 1,631 | #235 |
| 2019 | 1,479 | #247 |
| 2020 | 1,261 | #271 |
| 2021 | 1,188 | #288 |
| 2022 | 1,180 | #289 |
| 2023 | 1,049 | #317 |
| 2024 | 1,116 | #302 |
| 2025 | 979 | #339 |
How these numbers are counted
Social Security publishes, for every year since 1880, how many babies of each sex were given each name, counting any name given to at least 5. A name’s rank is its place that year among names for the same sex, by number of babies. Names with the same count share a rank here, while Social Security’s own lists break ties alphabetically, so a rank can differ from theirs by a place or two. A name’s share is the number of babies given it divided by all babies of that sex in the data that year, and its peak is the year that share was highest. Shares rather than counts set the peak, because far more babies were born in some years than others: counting babies alone would pull nearly every name’s peak toward the 1946–1964 baby boom.
Source: the U.S. Social Security Administration’s national baby name data, from Social Security card applications for babies born in the U.S. A name is left out of a year when fewer than 5 babies of one sex got it, and counts before about 1937 are incomplete, because many people born then never applied for a card. See how Baby Boom builds its data. Figures may contain errors.