boy's name
Briggs
BRIGZ
- Origin English
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 1
- Letters 6
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 9,773
the United States
#356
2025 births
Briggs is a boy's name of English origin meaning someone who lived by a bridge. It comes from the northern English and Scots form brig, from the Old Norse bryggja, and the S marks the place rather than a father.
- Briggs is a name of English origin.
- Peaked in 2024, when 1,071 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 3,565 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1927.
- 1 syllable, with the stress on syllable 1.
Briggs over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1920s 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 |
|---|---|
| 1920s | 10 |
| 1930s | 5 |
| 1940s | 11 |
| 1950s | 18 |
| 1960s | 32 |
| 1970s | 5 |
| 1980s | 42 |
| 1990s | 152 |
| 2000s | 623 |
| 2010s | 3,179 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 5,399 |
What Briggs means
Briggs names a person living at the bridges. The brig form is northern — Scots and northern English kept the Norse-influenced pronunciation where southern English has bridge.
Where Briggs comes from
Briggs comes from brig, the northern English and Scots word for a bridge, reflecting the Old Norse bryggja rather than the Old English brycg that gives standard bridge. That distribution maps closely onto the areas of Scandinavian settlement, and the surname is concentrated in Yorkshire and the north. Bridges were substantial, expensive structures and a natural landmark to identify someone by. In American use the name is associated with Briggs & Stratton engines and with the Myers-Briggs indicator; as a first name it is recent, appearing in our records from 1927 and rising sharply since 2010.
Briggs in use
Briggs charts in only two of the seven countries we track and peaked in 2024.
How popular is Briggs?
In 2025, Briggs was given to 930 babies in the United States, ranking #356 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Briggs 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 Briggs
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Briggs also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Briggs over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Briggs 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 Briggs
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Briggs — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Briggs
What does the name Briggs mean?
Someone who lived by a bridge, from brig — the northern English and Scots form, from the Old Norse bryggja.
Why is it brig and not bridge?
Northern England and Scotland kept the Norse-influenced form. The distribution follows the areas of Scandinavian settlement.
Is Briggs a boy's or a girl's name?
It is given almost entirely to boys.
How popular is the name Briggs?
In 2025, Briggs was given to 930 babies in the United States, ranking #356 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
How many syllables are in Briggs?
Briggs has 1 syllable.
When was Briggs most popular?
Briggs peaked in 2024, when 1,071 babies were given the name. It has been rising over the past decade.
Is Briggs a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Briggs currently ranks #356 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.