Bryan
Bryan was given to 1,005 boys in 2025, #336 among boys’ names; 391,306 Americans have been recorded with it since 1883 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 353,000 Americans named Bryan and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (90% of everyone recorded); the median is 40 years old and half are between 26 and 52.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Bryan by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Bryan mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Bryan is “a male given name from Irish, a less common alternative spelling of Brian.”
/ˈbɹaɪən/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Bryan?
#336 among boys’ names, 2025
Bryan fell from #166 in 2015 to #336 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born fell from 1.3 to 0.59 per 1,000.
8,788 babies in 1985, the peak
Bryan peaked in 1985, when 8,788 babies were given it (8,717 boys, #48 among boys’ names). The 1,005 births of 2025 are 11% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1,005 | #336 | 0.59 |
| 2024 | 1,105 | #307 | 0.64 |
| 2023 | 1,082 | #305 | 0.63 |
| 2022 | 1,172 | #291 | 0.67 |
| 2021 | 1,211 | #285 | 0.69 |
| 2020 | 1,359 | #259 | 0.79 |
| 2019 | 1,425 | #255 | 0.79 |
| 2018 | 1,641 | #233 | 0.90 |
| 2017 | 1,840 | #211 | 1.0 |
| 2016 | 2,130 | #186 | 1.1 |
Every recorded year (137)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 2,492 | #166 | 1.3 |
| 2014 | 2,731 | #149 | 1.4 |
| 2013 | 2,893 | #133 | 1.5 |
| 2012 | 3,083 | #121 | 1.6 |
| 2011 | 3,521 | #110 | 1.9 |
| 2010 | 3,938 | #97 | 2.1 |
| 2009 | 4,856 | #92 | 2.4 |
| 2008 | 5,505 | #82 | 2.7 |
| 2007 | 6,180 | #78 | 3.0 |
| 2006 | 6,699 | #66 | 3.3 |
| 2005 | 6,454 | #72 | 3.2 |
| 2004 | 6,732 | #65 | 3.4 |
| 2003 | 6,619 | #64 | 3.4 |
| 2002 | 6,617 | #64 | 3.4 |
| 2001 | 6,125 | #69 | 3.2 |
| 2000 | 6,143 | #70 | 3.1 |
| 1999 | 5,391 | #74 | 2.8 |
| 1998 | 5,309 | #74 | 2.8 |
| 1997 | 5,251 | #69 | 2.8 |
| 1996 | 5,560 | #66 | 2.9 |
| 1995 | 5,444 | #70 | 2.9 |
| 1994 | 5,606 | #66 | 2.9 |
| 1993 | 6,159 | #61 | 3.1 |
| 1992 | 6,835 | #57 | 3.4 |
| 1991 | 6,757 | #61 | 3.3 |
| 1990 | 7,439 | #57 | 3.6 |
| 1989 | 7,851 | #56 | 3.9 |
| 1988 | 8,036 | #54 | 4.2 |
| 1987 | 8,560 | #51 | 4.6 |
| 1986 | 8,651 | #47 | 4.7 |
| 1985 | 8,717 | #48 | 4.7 |
| 1984 | 8,270 | #48 | 4.6 |
| 1983 | 8,191 | #47 | 4.6 |
| 1982 | 7,498 | #49 | 4.1 |
| 1981 | 7,215 | #48 | 4.0 |
| 1980 | 7,513 | #49 | 4.2 |
| 1979 | 7,441 | #46 | 4.3 |
| 1978 | 7,291 | #43 | 4.4 |
| 1977 | 7,886 | #42 | 4.8 |
| 1976 | 7,288 | #43 | 4.6 |
| 1975 | 6,998 | #47 | 4.5 |
| 1974 | 7,226 | #45 | 4.6 |
| 1973 | 7,110 | #43 | 4.6 |
| 1972 | 7,035 | #45 | 4.3 |
| 1971 | 6,611 | #48 | 3.7 |
| 1970 | 6,452 | #53 | 3.5 |
| 1969 | 6,469 | #51 | 3.6 |
| 1968 | 6,254 | #51 | 3.6 |
| 1967 | 6,017 | #52 | 3.5 |
| 1966 | 5,890 | #52 | 3.3 |
| 1965 | 5,345 | #63 | 2.9 |
| 1964 | 5,272 | #70 | 2.6 |
| 1963 | 5,257 | #73 | 2.6 |
| 1962 | 4,992 | #82 | 2.4 |
| 1961 | 5,028 | #82 | 2.4 |
| 1960 | 4,780 | #88 | 2.2 |
| 1959 | 4,488 | #94 | 2.1 |
| 1958 | 4,091 | #101 | 1.9 |
| 1957 | 3,374 | #115 | 1.6 |
| 1956 | 2,438 | #132 | 1.2 |
| 1955 | 1,568 | #177 | 0.76 |
| 1954 | 1,225 | #204 | 0.60 |
| 1953 | 1,049 | #210 | 0.53 |
| 1952 | 849 | #230 | 0.44 |
| 1951 | 809 | #235 | 0.43 |
| 1950 | 737 | #247 | 0.41 |
| 1949 | 671 | #249 | 0.38 |
| 1948 | 561 | #284 | 0.32 |
| 1947 | 602 | #277 | 0.33 |
| 1946 | 460 | #302 | 0.28 |
| 1945 | 308 | #342 | 0.23 |
| 1944 | 340 | #327 | 0.25 |
| 1943 | 320 | #344 | 0.22 |
| 1942 | 298 | #351 | 0.22 |
| 1941 | 216 | #392 | 0.18 |
| 1940 | 200 | #406 | 0.17 |
| 1939 | 177 | #428 | 0.16 |
| 1938 | 161 | #457 | 0.15 |
| 1937 | 132 | #500 | 0.12 |
| 1936 | 114 | #538 | 0.11 |
| 1935 | 108 | #553 | 0.10 |
| 1934 | 122 | #530 | 0.12 |
| 1933 | 109 | #549 | 0.11 |
| 1932 | 125 | #516 | 0.12 |
| 1931 | 125 | #516 | 0.12 |
| 1930 | 122 | #544 | 0.11 |
| 1929 | 124 | #522 | 0.12 |
| 1928 | 126 | #545 | 0.11 |
| 1927 | 105 | #608 | 0.09 |
| 1926 | 139 | #512 | 0.13 |
| 1925 | 149 | #498 | 0.13 |
| 1924 | 116 | #589 | 0.10 |
| 1923 | 98 | #650 | 0.09 |
| 1922 | 119 | #588 | 0.11 |
| 1921 | 103 | #626 | 0.09 |
| 1920 | 83 | #716 | 0.08 |
| 1919 | 87 | #663 | 0.09 |
| 1918 | 77 | #729 | 0.08 |
| 1917 | 52 | #886 | 0.06 |
| 1916 | 45 | #954 | 0.05 |
| 1915 | 50 | #868 | 0.06 |
| 1914 | 52 | #724 | 0.08 |
| 1913 | 45 | #668 | 0.09 |
| 1912 | 27 | #859 | 0.06 |
| 1911 | 15 | #863 | 0.07 |
| 1910 | 12 | #936 | 0.06 |
| 1909 | 20 | #592 | 0.12 |
| 1908 | 27 | #477 | 0.17 |
| 1907 | 22 | #496 | 0.15 |
| 1906 | 9 | #864 | 0.07 |
| 1905 | 10 | #798 | 0.08 |
| 1904 | 14 | #615 | 0.11 |
| 1903 | 10 | #741 | 0.08 |
| 1902 | 11 | #692 | 0.09 |
| 1901 | 19 | #434 | 0.18 |
| 1900 | 55 | #277 | 0.37 |
| 1899 | 36 | #289 | 0.34 |
| 1898 | 57 | #232 | 0.46 |
| 1897 | 97 | #159 | 0.86 |
| 1896 | 157 | #116 | 1.3 |
| 1895 | 27 | #359 | 0.23 |
| 1894 | 9 | #739 | 0.08 |
| 1893 | 5 | #1,056 | 0.04 |
| 1892 | 10 | #692 | 0.08 |
| 1890 | 7 | #817 | 0.06 |
| 1886 | 5 | #986 | 0.05 |
| 1883 | 6 | #811 | 0.06 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Bryan a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Bryan has been given almost only to boys: 1,717 girls in 137 years of records.
Girls and boys named Bryan: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Bryan, and how old are they?
353,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 90% of the 391,306 Americans ever recorded as Bryan. The median Bryan alive today is 40 years old; half are between 26 and 52.
The 2020 Census counted 327,372 people named Bryan (608 women and girls, 326,764 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 356,642 born in the U.S. The Census count is 8% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 803 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 35,200 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 96,900 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 111,000 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 87,200 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 21,900 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Bryan born?
The states with the most babies named Bryan are California, Texas and New York, with 31% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 58,855 | #273 | 1.3× |
| Texas | 37,128 | #315 | 1.2× |
| New York | 23,821 | #326 | 0.8× |
| Florida | 18,717 | #168 | 1.2× |
| Ohio | 17,719 | #545 | 1.0× |
| Illinois | 16,588 | #417 | 0.9× |
| Pennsylvania | 15,348 | #319 | 0.8× |
| Michigan | 12,973 | #519 | 0.8× |
| New Jersey | 11,015 | #234 | 1.0× |
| North Carolina | 10,538 | #408 | 1.0× |
Where Bryan is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Bryan is most over-represented in California: since 1910 it was given 1.3 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Bryan with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 8 names spelled alike, given to 1,594,171 babies since 1880, Bryan is the second most given (25% of them). In 2025 it was given to 1,005 of their 2,024 babies (50%), the most given that year.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Bryan
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Bryan and names like it
- Compare Bryan and BrianBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1980sBryan peaked in 1985.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Bryan since 1910.
- The top names of 1985The year the most babies were named Bryan.
- The names of the MillennialsMost people named Bryan alive today were born 1981-1996.
- Names starting with BMost given first.