Brilee
A feminine name of American origin, a combination of "Bri" and "Lee".
Name Census estimates that about 1,330 living Americans carry the first name Brilee. It is a predominantly female name (98.3% of registrations). The average person named Brilee today is around 15 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Brilee births was 2012 (112 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Brilee. 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.
Key insights
- • Brilee is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 15 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
1.3K
~ 1 in 257,710 Americans
Peak year
2012
112 babies that year
Average age
15
years old
2016 SSA rank
#8,014
Tracked since 1993
Census
Brilee in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,136 people with the first name Brilee, which placed it at #11,344 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
#11,344
National first-name rank
People counted
1.1K
1,136 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
82.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Brilee
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Brilee is White at 82.1%. The next largest groups are Black (6.1%) and Two or More Races (4.8%). 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 Brilee 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 Brilee at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White82.1% · 933
- Black or African American6.1% · 69
- Two or more races4.8% · 55
- Hispanic or Latino4.7% · 53
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.0% · 23
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 3
Gender
Gender distribution for Brilee
Brilee leans heavily female at 98.3% of total registrations, but 23 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Brilee as a male name
- Ranked #12,468 in 2016
- 5 male births in 2016
- Peak: 2014 (7 births)
Brilee as a female name
- Ranked #8,014 in 2024
- 13 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2012 (107 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Brilee leans strongly female. 1,080 people counted with this name were female (95.2%), compared with 54 male bearers (4.8%).
Popularity
Brilee: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Brilee from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 727 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
Brilee 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 Brilee during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Brilees live
The SSA's state-level files cover 16 states and territories. Texas, Tennessee, Kentucky recorded the most babies named Brilee, while Ohio, Iowa, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 25 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Brilee
The name Brilee has its origins in the ancient Celtic language and culture. It is believed to have emerged around the 5th century AD, during the height of the Celtic civilization in the British Isles and parts of continental Europe.
The name Brilee is thought to be derived from the Celtic words "bri" and "leah," which together translate to "strong and radiant." This combination of strength and radiance was highly valued in Celtic culture, particularly for women, who were often revered as powerful figures in their communities.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Brilee can be found in a collection of Celtic folklore tales from the 8th century. In these tales, a character named Brilee is depicted as a brave and beautiful warrior princess who leads her people to victory against invading forces.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Brilee. One of the most famous was Brilee of Strathclyde (c. 980-1045), a Scottish noblewoman and influential landowner who played a significant role in the political affairs of her time.
Another notable Brilee was Brilee Dubhdara (c. 1150-1220), an Irish poet and bard renowned for her lyrical compositions and her mastery of the ancient Celtic bardic traditions.
In the 16th century, Brilee Fitzwilliam (c. 1510-1580) was an English courtier and lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth I. She was known for her intelligence, wit, and loyalty to the crown.
During the 17th century, Brilee MacLeod (c. 1620-1690) was a Scottish chieftain and clan leader who fought bravely in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, defending her lands and people against English forces.
More recently, Brilee O'Connor (1875-1957) was an Irish-American writer and journalist who wrote extensively about the experiences of Irish immigrants in the United States during the early 20th century.
While the name Brilee has ancient roots and a rich historical legacy, it has remained relatively uncommon throughout the centuries. However, its strong and radiant meaning has ensured that it continues to be passed down from generation to generation, preserving a connection to the ancient Celtic heritage.
People
Brilee + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Brilee 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
Brilee: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Brilee?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,330 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Brilee 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 257,710 US residents.
Is Brilee a common name?
We classify Brilee as "Rare". It ranks above 91.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,344 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Brilee most popular?
The single biggest year for Brilee was 2012, when 112 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Brilee is about 15 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Brilee in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,136 people with the name Brilee, or 0.38 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #11,344 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 Brilee 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 Brilee?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Brilee leans strongly female. 1,080 people counted with this name were female (95.2%), compared with 54 male bearers (4.8%). 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 Brilee?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Brilee is White at 82.1%. The next largest groups are Black (6.1%) and Two or More Races (4.8%). 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 Brilee most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Brilee in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.1% (933 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 Brilee in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Brilee a female name?
Yes, 98.3% of people registered as Brilee 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 Brilee still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Brilee 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 Brilee 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 many people have the name Brilee?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Brilee on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.