Recorded 1883–2025 · United States
Bryan was most popular in 1985, when 8,788 American babies were given the name — ranking #84 that year. In 2025 it ranked #653, with 1,005 births. Across 1880–2025 the Social Security Administration has recorded 391,306 people named Bryan.
Bryan first appears in Social Security Administration records in 1883, which makes it about 142 years old as a recorded American name. It has been recorded in 137 of the 143 years since.
The Social Security Administration has recorded 391,306 American births named Bryan between 1880 and 2025. That is recorded US births, not a world population — it counts people issued a Social Security number at birth in the United States. Of those, roughly 356,138 are estimated to be alive today.
1,005 American babies were named Bryan in 2025, ranking #653 that year.
Bryan is falling. Across 2021–2025 it averaged 1,116 births a year, against 2,949 a year across 2011–2015 — a change of -62% over the decade.
Measured on recorded births. American births overall have fallen since 2007, so most established names lose births over any recent decade — a name can shed births and still hold its rank. Compare the rank above, which is measured against the other names of the same year.
Across the whole record Bryan is a boy’s name — 0.4% of the 391,306 Americans given it were girls and 99.6% were boys. In births since 2016 it is 0% girls and 100% boys.
Counted from every US birth the Social Security Administration recorded under this name, so it reflects use rather than opinion. A name given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a year is withheld at source and is not counted.
Roughly 356,138 Americans named Bryan are alive today — 91% of everyone ever recorded with the name. The median is 40 years old, and half are between 26 and 52.
An estimate, not a count. Recorded births are carried forward through the Social Security Administration’s 2023 period life table, by age and sex. That table describes mortality in one recent year, so it credits the oldest cohorts with today’s survival rather than the harsher rates they actually lived through — the further back a name peaked, the more this will overstate how many remain. It counts people issued a Social Security number at birth, not immigrants who arrived later.
A variant of Brian · Irish · "noble, high"
How much more common the name is in each state than across the country as a whole.
See Bryan on the interactive charts
About · Privacy · Contact
Source: U.S.A. Social Security Administration. Years 1880–2025. namelegacy.org