Briel
A feminine name likely derived from the French place name Briel.
Name Census estimates that about 701 living Americans carry the first name Briel. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Briel today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Briel births was 2012 (39 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Briel. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Briel with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
701
~ 1 in 488,951 Americans
Peak year
2012
39 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2024 SSA rank
#10,391
Tracked since 1987
Census
Briel in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 673 people with the first name Briel, which placed it at #16,669 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#16,669
National first-name rank
People counted
673
673 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
42.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Briel
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Briel is Black at 42.8%. The next largest groups are White (31.2%) and Hispanic (18.9%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Briel described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Briel at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American42.8% · 288
- White31.2% · 210
- Hispanic or Latino18.9% · 127
- Two or more races4.9% · 33
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.1% · 14
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 1
Popularity
Briel: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Briel from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 290 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Briel by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Briel during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Briel
The name Briel is believed to have originated from the Dutch language, derived from the word "bril," meaning "glasses" or "spectacles." The name's origins can be traced back to the Netherlands and surrounding regions during the Middle Ages.
In Dutch-speaking communities, the name Briel was often bestowed upon individuals who worked as spectacle makers or sellers, reflecting their occupation and association with eyeglasses. This connection to the trade of optics and vision aids contributed to the name's early significance and usage.
Records indicate that the name Briel appeared in various historical documents and records from the 16th century onwards, particularly in the Netherlands and neighboring areas where Dutch influence was prominent. However, its usage as a given name predates these written records, suggesting an even earlier origin.
One of the earliest known individuals bearing the name Briel was Hendrick Briel, a Dutch spectacle maker who lived in the city of Leiden in the late 16th century. His contribution to the art of lens-making and the production of eyeglasses helped solidify the name's association with this craft.
Another notable figure was Pieter Briel, a Dutch engraver and painter who lived during the 17th century. His artistic works, particularly his engravings depicting scenes from daily life, have been preserved and showcased in various museums and collections.
In the 18th century, Johanna Briel, a Dutch writer and poet, gained recognition for her literary works and contributions to the cultural landscape of her time. Her poems and writings were widely celebrated and brought further prominence to the name Briel.
Moving into the 19th century, Jan Briel, a Dutch architect, left a lasting legacy through his architectural designs and contributions to the built environment of several Dutch cities, including Amsterdam and Rotterdam.
Lastly, in the 20th century, Dirk Briel, a Dutch physicist and scientist, made significant advancements in the field of optics and laser technology, further reinforcing the name's association with vision and optical instruments.
While the name Briel may have its roots in the Dutch language and culture, it has transcended geographical boundaries and found widespread usage across various regions and communities over the centuries.
People
Briel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Briel as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with B
Other first names starting with B with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Briel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Briel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 701 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Briel going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 488,951 US residents.
Is Briel a common name?
We classify Briel as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 712 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Briel most popular?
The single biggest year for Briel was 2012, when 39 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Briel is about 18 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Briel in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 673 people with the name Briel, or 0.22 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #16,669 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Briel in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Briel?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Briel leans strongly female. 630 people counted with this name were female (93.9%), compared with 41 male bearers (6.1%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Briel?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Briel is Black at 42.8%. The next largest groups are White (31.2%) and Hispanic (18.9%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Briel most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Briel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 42.8% (288 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Briel in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Briel a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Briel in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Briel still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Briel in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Briel can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How common is the name Briel?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.