girl's name
Briana
bree-AH-nuh
- Origin Irish
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 3
- Letters 6
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 100,296
the United States
#661
2025 births
Briana is a feminine of Brian, and it first appears in Spenser's Faerie Queene in 1590 — which makes it one of very few names whose earliest recorded use is a specific poem. It holds 98,535 lifetime births in our records.
- Briana is a name of Irish origin.
- Peaked in 1994, when 5,020 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 7,692 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1950.
- 3 syllables, with the stress on syllable 2.
Briana over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1950s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1950s | 72 |
| 1960s | 298 |
| 1970s | 2,116 |
| 1980s | 10,920 |
| 1990s | 42,904 |
| 2000s | 28,769 |
| 2010s | 9,075 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 3,172 |
What Briana means
Briana means noble or high, carried from Brian. The Irish element is usually read as high or exalted, though the derivation of Brian itself is not fully settled.
Where Briana comes from
Briana is a feminine of Brian, an Irish name usually built on bri, high or noble, though its derivation is not completely settled. Brian Boru's defeat of the Norse at Clontarf in 1014 made the name a national one in Ireland. The feminine appears first in Spenser's Faerie Queene of 1590 and then barely at all until the twentieth century, when America revived it and split it across Briana, Brianna, Breanna and Brianne.
Briana in use
Briana peaked in the United States in 1994, when 5,020 babies were registered, and is falling in our data. It charts in four of the seven markets we track — 661st in the United States on 431 births, 1276th in Canada, 1459th in France on 25 and 2578th in England and Wales on 11 — across 100,296 lifetime births. Our records carry it from 1946, so almost its entire measured life is post-war American.
How popular is Briana?
In 2025, Briana was given to 431 babies in the United States, ranking #661 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Briana is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Briana
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Briana also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Briana over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Briana
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Briana in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
- Slovene
- Brina
Sibling names for Briana
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Briana — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Briana
What does the name Briana mean?
Noble or high, carried from Brian — though Brian's own derivation is not fully settled.
Where does Briana first appear?
In Spenser's Faerie Queene of 1590, then barely at all until the twentieth century.
Is it Briana or Brianna?
Both, along with Breanna and Brianne — America split one sound four ways.
How popular is Briana?
661st in the United States, down from a 1994 peak of 5,020 births.
Is Briana a girl's or a boy's name?
Briana is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Briana?
Briana has 3 syllables.
What are the nicknames for Briana?
Briana is usually shortened to Bri.
Is Briana a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Briana currently ranks #661 in the United States. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.