Briana

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Briana

Gender: Feminine
Language: English

Etymology:
Briana is the modern English feminine form of Brian, the English form of an Old Irish name. It originally meant “High Hill.”

History:
Briana is a modern feminization to the Gaelic name Brian (using the English and Latin “a” feminine ending, rather than the Gaelic “ag” feminine ending).

It was first coined, probably, in the 19th century, constructed along the lines of Edwina, Alberta, Malcomina, etc. It continued as a rare name until the 1970s, when it suddenly shot up the charts. Initially, the variant B-r-i-a-n-a was more popular than the double N version. By the 1980s, B-r-i-a-n-n-a, with its association with “Anna” had won out.

The Irish, masculine name Brian had become common in the 1940s and popular by the 1960s. The name Briana may also have benefited by piggybacking onto the late 20th century craze for “anna” names.

Please see Brianna for more information.

Popularity:
Percentage from the 1990 U.S. Census:
0.010 % named Briana

Popularity of Briana:
Popularity (for newborns):
In the United States...
1880-1972: N/A
1973: 979th most popular.
1974: N/A
1975: 784th most popular.
1976: 737th most popular.
1977: 514th most popular.
1978: 504th most popular.
1979: 420th most popular.
1980: 383rd most popular.
1981: 393rd most popular.
1982: 341st most popular.
1983: 335th most popular.
1984: 291st most popular.
1985: 305th most popular.
1986: 235th most popular.
1987: 191st most popular.
1988: 157th most popular.
1989: 127th most popular.
1990: 113th most popular.
1991: 100th most popular.
1992: 80th most popular.
1993: 71st most popular.
1994: 69th most popular.
1995: 75th most popular.
1996: 73rd most popular.
1997: 74th most popular.
1998: 78th most popular.
1999: 82nd most popular.
2000: 84th most popular.
2001: 100th most popular.
2002: 103rd most popular.
2003: 114th most popular.
2004: 120th most popular.

Selected Sources:
The Social Security Administration Actuarial Note 139 - For popularity stats 1880-Present
The 1880 U.S. Census- For popularity stats 1850-1880