Brycen
Of English origin meaning "descendent of Brice or Brycen" or "from the brick dwelling".
Name Census estimates that about 13,598 living Americans carry the first name Brycen. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Brycen today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Brycen births was 2011 (999 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Brycen. 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 Brycen with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Brycen is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 14 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
14K
~ 1 in 25,206 Americans
Peak year
2011
999 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#752
Tracked since 1976
Census
Brycen in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 10,488 people with the first name Brycen, which placed it at #2,388 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
#2,388
National first-name rank
People counted
10K
10,488 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
3.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
68.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Brycen
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Brycen is White at 68.3%. The next largest groups are Black (15.6%) and Two or More Races (7.2%). 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 Brycen 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 Brycen at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White68.3% · 7,159
- Black or African American15.6% · 1,633
- Two or more races7.2% · 751
- Hispanic or Latino6.6% · 688
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.5% · 155
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 102
Gender
Gender distribution for Brycen
Out of the 13,732 babies given the name Brycen since 1880, 99.8% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Brycen as a male name
- Ranked #752 in 2024
- 339 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2011 (999 births)
Brycen as a female name
- Ranked #16,709 in 2016
- 5 female births in 2016
- Peak: 2004 (8 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Brycen appears almost entirely male. Of the 10,495 people counted with this name, 99.3% were male and only a very small share were female.
Popularity
Brycen: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Brycen from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 7,353 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
Brycen 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 Brycen during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Brycens live
The SSA's state-level files cover 48 states and territories. Texas, Ohio, Florida recorded the most babies named Brycen, while Rhode Island, South Dakota, New Mexico recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 254 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Brycen
The given name Brycen is believed to have originated from the Welsh language, stemming from the word "brychan," which means "freckled" or "speckled." This name gained prominence in Wales during the medieval period, likely between the 5th and 11th centuries.
Brycen is closely related to the Welsh name Brychan, which was borne by a 5th-century King of Brycheiniog, a region in what is now southern Powys, Wales. King Brychan is regarded as a significant figure in Welsh history and is associated with numerous churches and religious sites bearing his name.
One of the earliest known historical figures bearing the name Brycen was Brycen Brycheiniog, a 6th-century Welsh prince and son of King Brychan. Records from this period are scarce, but Brycen Brycheiniog is mentioned in various genealogies and hagiographies.
In the 12th century, a notable figure named Brycen ap Bleddyn emerged as a Welsh nobleman and Lord of Brycheiniog. He played a significant role in the conflicts between the Welsh princes and the Norman invaders during this turbulent period.
Moving forward to the 16th century, Brycen Llwyd (c. 1550-1600) was a renowned Welsh bard and poet known for his contributions to the Welsh literary tradition. His works encompassed a wide range of subjects, including love, nature, and patriotism.
Another prominent individual with the name Brycen was Brycen Newydd (1712-1787), a Welsh clergyman and author who wrote extensively on religious topics. His works were widely read and influential during his time.
In more recent history, Brycen Thomas (1907-1992) was a Welsh novelist and playwright known for his works that explored the lives and struggles of the working-class in Wales. His most acclaimed novel, "The Loner," gained critical acclaim and was adapted for television.
While the name Brycen has its roots in Welsh culture, it has gained popularity in other parts of the world, particularly in English-speaking countries. However, its historical significance and connections to Welsh heritage remain deeply rooted in its origins.
People
Brycen + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Brycen 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
Brycen: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Brycen?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 13,598 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Brycen 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 25,206 US residents.
Is Brycen a common name?
We classify Brycen as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 13,732 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Brycen most popular?
The single biggest year for Brycen was 2011, when 999 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Brycen is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Brycen in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 10,488 people with the name Brycen, or 3.47 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #2,388 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 Brycen 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 Brycen?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Brycen appears almost entirely male. Of the 10,495 people counted with this name, 99.3% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Brycen?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Brycen is White at 68.3%. The next largest groups are Black (15.6%) and Two or More Races (7.2%). 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 Brycen most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Brycen in the 2020 Census, accounting for 68.3% (7,159 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 Brycen in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Brycen a male name?
Yes, 99.8% of people registered as Brycen in the SSA data are male. 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 Brycen still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Brycen 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 Brycen 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 are named Brycen?
Want to know how many Americans are named Brycen? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.