Unisex name · since 2011
Brilliant
Brilliant has 46 recorded births since 2011 in federal Social Security data, most heavily in 2022 -- full year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state rankings follow.
- #22,704 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #11,528 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 46
- born since 2011
- 2020s
- peak decade
Brilliant currently ranks #11528 among unisex names in America, with 46 babies recorded since 2011.
Brilliant has 46 recorded births among boys since 2011, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #11528 as of the latest data, more common than 17% of boys, busiest in the 2020s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 2011 to 2025.
- #22,704 of 45,481 all-time among boys
- #11,528 of 13,930 2025 SSA year
- 46 born since 2011
- 2020s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Brilliant ranks #22,704 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #11,528 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. 46 born since 2011, peaking in the 2020s.
- #22,704 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #11,528 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 46
- born since 2011
- 2020s
- peak decade
Brilliant's 46 recorded births place it above 49.76% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.
No state rows cleared SSA’s public reporting threshold for this name.
How Brilliant compares
46 16th percentile among 13,930 names currently given to boys
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked boys names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Brilliant's all-time total is 88% below the median boys name, and Liam still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Brilliant | Median boys name (Takari) | #1 boys name (Liam) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 46 | 369 | 358,536 |
| Peak-year births | 8 | 34 | 22,252 |
Brilliant's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Divide Brilliant's SSA record in two at 2021 and the more recent half accounts for 61% of all births, the earlier half the remaining 39%, consistent with a name still gaining ground rather than fading. Its calmest year was 2011, with only 6 births recorded -- set against the 2022 peak of 8, that's the full swing in one name's fortunes.
Brilliant popularity over time - boys
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 2011–2025
- Peak year (2022)
- 8
- Annual births at peak, across 15 years of records
Brilliant popularity over time - girls
21 total births recorded since 2019 (Brilliant as girls' name)
Brilliant by decade
2020s is the heaviest window (34 births, 74% of the file).
2020s was Brilliant's strongest decade.
34 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 74% of all-time use.
Brilliant births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 2010s 12
2010s
12 births
- 2020s
2020s
34 births
What this shows Peak: 2020s at 34 births (74% of all-time use).
Frequently Asked Questions
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Keep exploring Brilliant
Nearby Names Like Brilliant
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Brilliant
Compare Brilliant side by side: Brilliant vs Brian Brilliant vs Brice Brilliant vs Briggs
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Brilliant
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Brilliant: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~2022)
Similar record span (~14 yrs)
Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.
Data Sources
Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 2011–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Brilliant draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.