unisex name
Briar
BRY-er
- Origin English
- Gender Unisex
- Syllables 2
- Letters 5
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 15,430
the United States
#400
2025 births
Briar is a unisex name taken from the English word for a thorny shrub, especially wild rose or bramble. It comes from the Old English brer, and its use as a name owes much to Briar Rose, the sleeping princess of the Grimm fairy tale.
- Briar is a name of English origin.
- Peaked in 2025, when 1,175 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 2,822 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1971.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Briar over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1970s 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 |
|---|---|
| 1970s | 81 |
| 1980s | 85 |
| 1990s | 928 |
| 2000s | 1,710 |
| 2010s | 4,715 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 5,830 |
What Briar means
Briar names a prickly, tangled shrub — wild rose, bramble, sweetbriar. The appeal is the combination the plant itself carries: something beautiful that also defends itself, which is why the word appears so often in fairy tales.
Where Briar comes from
Briar comes from the Old English brer, a thorny bush, and has no relation to any older personal name. Its association with naming runs through Dornröschen, the Grimm brothers' version of Sleeping Beauty, translated into English as Briar Rose, where a hedge of briars grows around the sleeping castle; the Disney film gave the princess Briar Rose as her assumed name. The word also names briar pipes, though those are made from the root of a Mediterranean heath and reach English by a different route entirely. As a given name Briar is modern, appearing in our records from 1971 and used for both boys and girls.
Briar in use
Briar first appears in our records in 1971 and reached its highest recorded use in 2025.
How popular is Briar?
In 2025, Briar was given to 1,175 babies in the United States, ranking #400 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Briar 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 Briar
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Briar also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Briar over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Briar
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.
Briar 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.
Sibling names for Briar
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Briar — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Briar
What does the name Briar mean?
A thorny shrub such as wild rose or bramble, from the Old English brer.
Is Briar from Sleeping Beauty?
The association is strong. Briar Rose is the English name of the Grimm heroine, and the briar hedge around the castle is central to the story.
Is Briar a boy's or a girl's name?
Both, though it is given more often to girls.
How popular is the name Briar?
In 2025, Briar was given to 1,175 babies in the United States, ranking #400 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
How many syllables are in Briar?
Briar has 2 syllables.
When was Briar most popular?
Briar peaked in 2025, when 1,175 babies were given the name. It has been rising over the past decade.
What are the nicknames for Briar?
Briar is usually shortened to Bri.
Is Briar a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Briar currently ranks #267 in the United States. It has been rising over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.