Bryson
Masculine · “Son of Brice”
Bryson is overwhelmingly a boys’ name — 83,241 boys against 284 girls since 1880.
Bryson began as a surname meaning simply "son of Brice" — Brice being a medieval given name carried across England, Scotland and France, and worn by a bishop of Tours in the fifth century. Centuries later the surname crossed back over the line into first-name territory, joining the -son family that English speakers already read without pausing. It has been on the American record since the early twentieth century, though its real wave is recent.
How old is the name Bryson?
Bryson first appears in US birth records in 1914 — 111 years ago. The typical Bryson is a kid of about 11 — this name's wave is very recent. About 82,000 people named Bryson are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Bryson most popular?
Bryson peaked in 2017, reaching #86 nationally. Today it ranks #152, 66 places below that high. See the whole 2017 chart.
Bryson appears on these lists:
Where it comes from
From Bricius to Bryson
The story of Bryson
Bryson is an English and Scottish patronymic surname: Brice's son. The personal name behind it, Brice or Bricius, spread through medieval Europe partly through the cult of the fifth-century bishop of Tours who bore it, and it stayed in use in Britain and France for centuries. Like Jackson, Mason and Harrison, the surname eventually began to be given as a first name in the United States, and it has appeared on American records since the early twentieth century. Its main rise, however, belongs to the last few decades, helped along by the wider fashion for -son names and, more recently, by the R&B singer Bryson Tiller.
Meaning
Son of Brice
The surname reading is straightforward. What Brice itself meant is not established — it comes into medieval Latin as Bricius, and its earlier root, possibly Gaulish, has never been pinned down. So the name has a clear meaning that opens onto an unsolved one.
Cultural footprint
Bryson Tiller (b. 1993) — Platinum R&B artist
Source: Wikidata — the one source on this page that is not an official agency.
How the name formed
- Bricius
- Brice
- Bryson
Related forms: Brice · Bryce · Bricius · Brizio · Bricio
Pronouncing Bryson
BRY-sun
Two syllables, stress on the first, rhyming with "nice" plus "son." American English speakers read it correctly on sight; the only occasional question is spelling, not sound.
Nicknames for Bryson
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1914
- Most boys named
- 20164,372 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #86reached in 2017
- Change vs 2023
- −1.3%2,416 in 2025, from 2,449
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Bryson in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Brice in French — related form
- Bryce in English — related form
- Bricius in Latin — related form
- Brizio in Italian — related form
- Bricio in Spanish — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, Florida, California.
Brysons among us
people named Bryson are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 707 born in 2025 was named Bryson
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Miguel test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Bryson's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Miguel climbed just as high around 2000, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Miguel's path sketches the road Bryson is walking now.
Bryson is coming down from a big peak (#86 in 2017). This is the stretch of the cycle where a name starts to sound like the decade it ruled.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Bryson is headed
Bryson is easing off slowly — about 15% fewer babies a year by 2030 if the trend continues.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Bryson beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Bryson in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Reads correctly at first sight for English speakers — the -son ending is already familiar from surnames used as first names.
- A documented surname origin with a clear meaning: son of Brice.
- Present on American records since the early twentieth century, so it has a real history behind its recent rise.
- Has a natural short form, Bry, without depending on one.
- Connects to a name family — Brice, Bryce, Bricius — used across English, Scottish, French and Latin records.
- It sits close to several names in current use — Bryce, Brayden, Grayson, Tyson — so mishearings and momentary mix-ups in a classroom or on a roster are likely.
- Spellings like Brysen and Bricen exist, so expect to confirm which one you mean when it is written down.
- Its wave is very recent, which means most people carrying it now are children rather than adults. If you want a name that reads as clearly of no particular era, this one is fairly firmly stamped with its own.
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What they receive
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Bryson
Masculine · #152 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Brysons are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 82,000 people named Bryson are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Bryson in 2025?
- Bryson ranks #152 among US boy names in 2025, with 2,416 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Bryson?
- About 1 in every 707 US boys born in 2025 was named Bryson — 2,416 in all.
- Will my child share the name Bryson with classmates?
- Bryson will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Bryson
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Elliot#151 · Evan#153 · Emilio#154 · Carlos#150 · Greyson#149 · Jude#155 · Jaxson#156 · Arlo#148
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Bryson? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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