Briar

Briar: name meaning, origin & popularity

Meaning
“thorny shrub”
Origin
English
Say it
BRY-er · 2 syllables
Used for
Both (51% girls, 49% boys since 1880)

From the English vocabulary word brier/briar for a thorny plant, especially wild rose. It is a modern given name from a nature word.

How popular is Briar?

2024293 per million US babies
1880192019602000
Drag the line or the slider to read any year. Values are per million US births recorded by Social Security. Records before about 1937 undercount births, so early peaks can look taller than they were.

Babies named Briar in 2024974

2024 rank#523 girls

Peak year2024

Total US babies since 188012,170

Briar is rising: use over the last five years is 3.5× what it was a decade earlier.

Names like Briar

Variants, related forms and names with the same roots.

  • Bryerbriar; thorny shrub · English
  • Bryarbriar, thorny shrub · English
  • Averyruler of elves · English
  • Riverriver · English
  • Sawyerwoodcutter · English
  • TatumTata's homestead · English
  • EmersonEmery's son · English
  • Haydenhay valley · English

Briar questions

What does the name Briar mean?

Briar means "thorny shrub". It comes from English. From the English vocabulary word brier/briar for a thorny plant, especially wild rose. It is a modern given name from a nature word.

Is Briar a boy or girl name?

Briar is used for both: about 51% of US babies named Briar since 1880 were girls.

How popular is Briar?

974 US babies were named Briar in 2024. Its peak year was 2024.

How do you pronounce Briar?

Briar is usually pronounced BRY-er.

Birth counts: US Social Security Administration national data, 1880–2024 (names given to 5+ babies of a sex in a year). How we write meanings.