Head to head · Boys' names
Briggs vs Titus
#356 vs #358 in 2025
Briggs is a whisker ahead (#356 vs #358 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Briggs is climbing the charts fast, Titus is holding its place on the charts.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
The tape is even: Briggs and Titus each lead 3 measures of 6.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1880s: Briggs —, Titus #852 — Titus higher
- 1890s: Briggs —, Titus #958 — Titus higher
- 1900s: Briggs —, Titus #1056 — Titus higher
- 1910s: Briggs —, Titus #1208 — Titus higher
- 1920s: Briggs #2703, Titus #1379 — Titus higher
- 1930s: Briggs #3645, Titus #1401 — Titus higher
- 1940s: Briggs #3278, Titus #1403 — Titus higher
- 1950s: Briggs #3636, Titus #1242 — Titus higher
- 1960s: Briggs #3173, Titus #929 — Titus higher
- 1970s: Briggs #6056, Titus #812 — Titus higher
- 1980s: Briggs #5457, Titus #750 — Titus higher
- 1990s: Briggs #4670, Titus #864 — Titus higher
- 2000s: Briggs #2257, Titus #544 — Titus higher
- 2010s: Briggs #811, Titus #320 — Titus higher
- 2020s: Briggs #370, Titus #362 — Titus higher
Titus stood higher in every recorded decade — 15 of 15.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Briggs | Titus |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | — | #852 |
| 1890s | — | #958 |
| 1900s | — | #1056 |
| 1910s | — | #1208 |
| 1920s | #2703 | #1379 |
| 1930s | #3645 | #1401 |
| 1940s | #3278 | #1403 |
| 1950s | #3636 | #1242 |
| 1960s | #3173 | #929 |
| 1970s | #6056 | #812 |
| 1980s | #5457 | #750 |
| 1990s | #4670 | #864 |
| 2000s | #2257 | #544 |
| 2010s | #811 | #320 |
| 2020s | #370 | #362 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Briggs
of the bridges; someone who lived by a bridge
The surname is topographic: *brigg* is the northern English form of *bridge*, and the final -s marks the family of, or dweller at, the bridge.
bryggja (Old Norse) → brigg (northern Middle English) → atte Brigge → Briggs (surname) → Briggs (given name)
How it traveled
In the north of England, where Norse settlement left its mark on everyday speech, *bryggja* became *brigg* rather than *bridge*, and people who lived beside one were recorded as atte Brigge, then simply Brigg or Briggs. It became a common hereditary surname across Yorkshire and Lancashire in the medieval period and traveled to North America with English emigration.
Titus
Not established
Nobody has established what Titus meant. What is documented is its role: it was one of about eighteen praenomina in regular use in Rome, old enough by the classical period that Roman writers themselves no longer explained it. A connection to Latin titulus, 'inscription, title of honor', has been proposed, as has a Sabine origin, but neither is settled.
Titus (Roman praenomen) → Τίτος / Titos (Greek New Testament) → Titus (Latin Vulgate) → Titus (English)
How it traveled
Titus began as a Roman praenomen — a personal first name, in a culture that used very few of them — and appears in Latin records for as long as Latin records exist. It was carried by the emperor Titus, who ruled briefly at the end of the first century and completed the Colosseum begun by his father.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Briggs
BRIGZ
One syllable, rhyming with *digs*. The final -s is voiced, like a z. Almost nobody hesitates over it, though the s does mean the possessive gets awkward in writing: Briggs's.
- Brig — The obvious clipping; informal, and it also happens to be a military rank and a type of ship, so it is a word people already recognize.
- Briggsy — The -y ending English speakers add to surnames on sports fields and in families; playful and informal.
- B — Initial-only, used the way any single-syllable name gets shortened further among friends.
Titus
TY-tus
Stress on the first syllable, rhyming with 'righteous'. Classical Latin would have said TEE-toos, and the Italian and Spanish Tito keeps that vowel — worth knowing if the name will be heard in more than one language.
- Ty — The most common English short form, and a standalone given name in its own right.
- Tito — The Italian and Spanish form of the full name, used as an affectionate short form in Spanish-speaking families and independently as a given name.
- T — Informal, spoken rather than written; Romans themselves abbreviated the name to T. in inscriptions.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Briggs if you want…
- a name on the way upup 84 places on the charts in five years
- a name with fewer syllablesBriggs is 1 syllable to Titus's 2
- a newer arrivalBriggs entered the US charts in 1927
Choose Titus if you want…
- a name holding steadyTitus is holding its place on the charts
- a name with more sound in itTitus runs 2 syllables, Briggs 1
- a long American recordTitus was already in use when US records began in 1880
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Briggs
Strengths
- One syllable with a single obvious pronunciation — no correcting, no second attempt.
- The spelling follows a long-established surname, so it looks familiar on a page even to people meeting the first name for the first time.
- A documented meaning that is plain and concrete: the bridge, and the family who lived by it.
To consider
- Nearly everyone currently carrying it is a child. That means classmates rather than colleagues share it, and adults hearing it may take a beat to register it as a first name at all.
- It reads unmistakably as a surname, so expect forms and roll calls where someone assumes it belongs in the last-name box.
- The Myers-Briggs personality inventory is the association many adults reach for first. It is harmless and fades quickly, but it will come up.
Titus
Strengths
- Spelled the way it sounds in English, and short enough that a child can write it early.
- A documented record stretching from Roman inscriptions through the New Testament to the present, with no gap.
- Recognizable across Italian, Spanish, Polish and Greek in forms close enough to the English one.
To consider
- Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus is his most violent play. Most people won't make the connection, but it is the other famous Titus, and anyone who studied it will remember.
- The New Testament link is real and specific — a whole epistle bears the name. If a distinctly Christian reading isn't what you're after, it will still be the first association for some listeners.
- The -us ending is uncommon among American boys' names right now, so Titus stands somewhat apart from its classmates. That cuts both ways: little confusion, but he will spend a lifetime being the only one in the room.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Briggs and Titus in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Briggs and Titus?
Put both to the vote.
One link to your partner, your parents, your sister. Each of them gets the two names, a one-tap answer and room to say why — and every reply lands in one place.
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More than two in the running? Settle it with a bracket or run the full comparison with your last name.
More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists that carry both names
Every list here names both Briggs and Titus — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Briggs or Titus — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Briggs or Titus?
- Briggs, in 2025: Briggs ranked #356 with 921 babies; Titus ranked #358 with 910 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Briggs or Titus?
- Briggs. Over the last five years Briggs moved up 84 places; Titus moved down 18 places.
- Which is the older name, Briggs or Titus?
- Briggs entered the US charts in 1927; Titus was already in use when US records began in 1880. On the American record, Titus is the older name.
- How many people are named Briggs and Titus?
- About 9,300 people named Briggs are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 25,500 people named Titus are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Briggss or Tituss in the classroom?
- Briggs will almost certainly be the only one in school. Titus will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
Keep playing
Sixty more head-to-heads are dealt in the arena every day — or line up Briggs, Titus and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
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