Brysen
Of Old English origin, a compound name potentially derived from "bris" (vigor) and "yn" (bearer).
Name Census estimates that about 3,587 living Americans carry the first name Brysen. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Brysen today is around 13 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Brysen births was 2017 (262 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Brysen. 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
- • Brysen is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 13 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
3.6K
~ 1 in 95,555 Americans
Peak year
2017
262 babies that year
Average age
13
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,187
Tracked since 1983
Census
Brysen in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,652 people with the first name Brysen, which placed it at #6,131 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
#6,131
National first-name rank
People counted
2.7K
2,652 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.9
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
61.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Brysen
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Brysen is White at 61.7%. The next largest groups are Black (16.5%) and Hispanic (9.3%). 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 Brysen 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 Brysen at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White61.7% · 1,636
- Black or African American16.5% · 438
- Hispanic or Latino9.3% · 246
- Two or more races8.1% · 216
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.2% · 84
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 32
Gender
Gender distribution for Brysen
Out of the 3,622 babies given the name Brysen 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.
Brysen as a male name
- Ranked #2,187 in 2024
- 66 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2017 (262 births)
Brysen as a female name
- Ranked #14,157 in 2003
- 6 female births in 2003
- Peak: 2003 (6 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Brysen leans strongly male. 2,609 people counted with this name were male (98.6%), compared with 38 female bearers (1.4%).
Popularity
Brysen: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Brysen 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 2,108 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
Brysen 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 Brysen during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Brysens live
The SSA's state-level files cover 35 states and territories. Texas, Florida, Ohio recorded the most babies named Brysen, while Oregon, Maine, Kansas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 58 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Brysen
The given name Brysen has its origins in the Old English language, with roots tracing back to the 8th century AD. It is believed to be a variant of the name Bryson, derived from the Old English words "bry" meaning "to brew" and "sun" meaning "son." This suggests that the name may have referred to the son of a brewer or someone associated with the brewing profession.
In early medieval times, the name was predominantly found in the regions of present-day England and parts of Scotland. Historical records from this period reveal several variations of the spelling, including Brysan, Brysen, and Brisun.
One of the earliest documented references to the name Brysen can be found in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, a collection of annals chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The entry from the year 871 AD mentions a person named Brysen, who was a follower of the Viking leader Ivar the Boneless.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the name Brysen remained relatively uncommon but was occasionally encountered among the lower nobility and commoners of English and Scottish descent. Notable figures bearing this name include Brysen of Alnwick, a local landowner who lived in the 12th century in Northumberland, England.
During the Renaissance period, the name gained some prominence in literary works. One of the earliest examples is Brysen, a character in the 16th-century play "Gammer Gurton's Needle" by the English playwright William Stevenson.
In the 17th century, Brysen Meyrick (1623-1691) was a Welsh politician and Member of Parliament who served during the reign of King Charles II. Another notable figure was Brysen Hawthorne (1674-1738), an English merchant and explorer who wrote accounts of his travels to the East Indies.
Fast-forwarding to the 19th century, Brysen Pearce (1818-1892) was a renowned English architect and designer who contributed to the Gothic Revival movement. Additionally, Brysen Whiteley (1843-1921) was a prominent British industrialist and philanthropist known for his support of educational initiatives.
While the name Brysen has remained relatively uncommon throughout history, it has continued to be used sporadically across various cultures and regions. Its unique origins and historical connections make it a distinctive choice for parents seeking a name with a rich heritage.
People
Brysen + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Brysen 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
Brysen: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Brysen?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3,587 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Brysen 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 95,555 US residents.
Is Brysen a common name?
We classify Brysen as "Rare". It ranks above 95.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,622 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Brysen most popular?
The single biggest year for Brysen was 2017, when 262 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Brysen is about 13 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Brysen in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,652 people with the name Brysen, or 0.88 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #6,131 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 Brysen 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 Brysen?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Brysen leans strongly male. 2,609 people counted with this name were male (98.6%), compared with 38 female bearers (1.4%). 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 Brysen?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Brysen is White at 61.7%. The next largest groups are Black (16.5%) and Hispanic (9.3%). 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 Brysen most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Brysen in the 2020 Census, accounting for 61.7% (1,636 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 Brysen in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Brysen a male name?
Yes, 99.8% of people registered as Brysen 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 Brysen still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Brysen 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 Brysen 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 Brysen?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Brysen on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.