Brianna
Brianna was the 222nd most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 1,372 babies. Its best year was 1999, when it ranked 14th; the most babies were born in 2000 (12,880). Over the last ten years it has moved down 140 places. More babies were named Brianna in the 2000s than in any other decade.
Meaning Origin uncertain · Irish, Celtic
Say it bree-AN-uh /briˈænə/
- Rank in 2025
- #222 girls, down 77 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 1,372girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 200012,880 babies
- Total since 1880
- 265,237babies recorded
What does the name Brianna mean?
Brianna is a feminine form of the Irish name Brian, as Wikipedia explains; Briana is the older spelling. DMNES calls Brian of uncertain origin, possibly from a Brittonic word meaning 'high, noble', and lists the Irish high king Brian Boru. Wikipedia notes that Briana appears in Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene (1590s) and was occasionally used in England from then on, though it became common only in the late 20th century.
Brian (Irish, “Brian”)*brigonos (Proto-Brythonic, “high, noble (possible)”)
How sure is this? Uncertain. A feminine of Brian, whose origin DMNES calls uncertain.
Related names: Briana, Breanna, Bryanna, Brian, Bri.
See also: Irish names.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Brianna', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation); facts restated, no text reused
- Wikipedia, 'Brianna', Wikipedia (Wikimedia Foundation); facts restated, no text reused
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources, ed. S. L. Uckelman, Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Brian', Durham University / The DMNES Editors
Nicknames for Brianna
The usual nicknames for Brianna are Bri and Bree. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 girls named Brianna in the last five years, 5 were named Bree, against 2 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Girls, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bri · also for Brielle, Briella, Sabrina | Modern | — | — |
| Bree · also for Aubrey, Breanna | Modern | #2,826 | 432 |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are girls given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Briannas go by each one.
Brianna popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 438 since 1984.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #222 | 1,372 |
| 2020 | #145 | 1,878 |
| 2010 | #30 | 6,281 |
| 2000 | #15 | 12,880 |
| 1990 | #61 | 5,680 |
| 1980 | #341 | 708 |
| 1970 | #2,400 | 31 |
| 1960 | — | — |
| 1950 | — | — |
| 1940 | — | — |
| 1930 | — | — |
| 1920 | — | — |
| 1910 | — | — |
| 1900 | — | — |
| 1890 | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Brianna, counting every spelling?
Brianna is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #193 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #222 for Brianna on its own. Together these spellings went to 1,803 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brianna | 1,372 | #222 | 8,244 |
| Briana | 431 | #661 | 2,692 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Brianna?
1,372 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Brianna (0.38 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Brianna born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 6 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Brianna.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Brianna?
About 261,000 people born in the US named Brianna are alive today, with a median age of 25; half are between 19 and 31. That makes Brianna mostly worn by children and young adults.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Brianna by state
How common Brianna was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Maryland (2.4×), New Jersey (2.1×), Florida (1.9×), Connecticut (1.7×), Virginia (1.7×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in Hawaii, Michigan, Idaho.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Brianna: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Brianna, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Brianna · Sibling names for Brianna
Questions about the name Brianna
What does Brianna mean?
The origin of Brianna is uncertain: a feminine of Brian, whose origin DMNES calls uncertain.
How popular is the name Brianna?
Brianna was the 222nd most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 1,372 babies. Its best year was 1999, when it ranked 14th; the most babies were born in 2000 (12,880). Over the last ten years it has moved down 140 places. More babies were named Brianna in the 2000s than in any other decade.
Is Brianna a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Brianna in the US.
Where is Brianna most popular?
In 2021–2025, Brianna was most common in Maryland (2.48 per 1,000 girls), followed by New Jersey and Florida.