Name Awesome

Brinley

#608 in 2025Girls' name

Bryn + phonetic suffix lee; also an English surname

Brinley has been given to 13,641 babies in the U.S. since 1987. In 2025 it ranked #608 of 17,293 girls’ names in use. Its peak year was 2017, with 1,000 recorded.

Babies named Brinley, 2025

1 in 6,890

Brinley over time, 1880–2025

GirlsBoys
02505007501K18801900192019401960198020002020

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Brinley: meaning, origin, and history

Bryn + phonetic suffix lee; also an English surname

surname transfer

What Brinley means

Brinley is a variant of Brindley.

The naming story behind Brinley

The editorial entry describes Brinley as a combination of Bryn and the productive phonetic ending lee.

The same spelling coincides with an English surname derived from a town name interpreted as burned clearing. That surname history is a separate explanation.

Origin, language, and formation

Brinley is used in English. Its origins include surname transfer.

Brinley is recorded as a surname transferred into given-name use.

Related names and everyday forms

Related names include Bryn and Brindley.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 13,490 girls were recorded with the name Brinley between 1987 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 1,000 in 2017; its best national rank was #328 in 2017.

Over 5 years its rank fell, from #362 in 2020 to #608 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank fell, from #408 in 2015 to #608 in 2025.

In the United States, 151 boys were recorded with the name Brinley between 1997 and 2023. Its highest annual count was 14 in 2013; its best national rank was #5,964 in 2013.

Sources & methodologyReferences, data & attribution

Meaning, origin, and language notes draw on the references below.

American popularity figures use published Social Security Administration records for this exact spelling. Counts below five for a name, sex, and year are omitted.

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

How common is Brinley?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 6,890
481 of 3,315,165 births
Among girls only
1 in 3,340
0.03% of girls
Rank, 2025
#608
of 17,293 girls’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
4,778 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Brinley sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Olivia (13,544)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%
Class of 30Under 1%
Grade of 1001%
School of 5007%

Put another way: gather 4,778 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Brinley. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Brinleys were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Brinley was born before 2017 — so the typical Brinley is around 8 today.

Median birth year
2017
About 8 years old
Biggest decade
2010s
55.1% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
97.8%
A modern name
Recorded since 1950
13,490
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

2010s — 55.1% of all recorded uses (7,431).

Is Brinley rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago
−44
Places dropped
Rank vs 5 years ago
−246
Places dropped
Rank vs 10 years ago
−200
Places dropped
Births vs 10 years ago
0.61×
Fewer babies than then
Share of its own peak
48.1%
Peak was 2017 (1,000)
Years since peak
8
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Shifting
13.5% average annual change
Best rank ever
#328
2017

Spellings of Brinley

Brinley is not the most common spelling — Riley is, with 34.7% against Brinley's 3.3%.

Grouped by closeness of spelling (up to two letter changes), same sex, with a floor on all-time use. It catches Sophia/Sofia and Aiden/Ayden, and misses spellings that sound alike but look different, like Sean and Shawn.

Where Brinley is used

Across 2016–2025, Brinley was most concentrated in Nebraska — about 1 in 637 girls, against 1 in 1,788 across all states with data. It was least common in New Mexico (1 in 5,263).

19157 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1Nebraska1 in 637
  2. 2Iowa1 in 649
  3. 3Idaho1 in 658
  4. 4North Dakota1 in 719
  5. 5West Virginia1 in 730
  6. 6Wisconsin1 in 752
  7. 7Montana1 in 769
  8. 8South Dakota1 in 787

Shading is the share of that state's recorded girls given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings.

Geographically, Brinley is somewhat regional — more concentrated than 47% of the names used widely enough to compare. See the most regional names

Brinley around the world

Where Brinley ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

  • England & Wales
    2015–2025
    #5,927
    in 2025
  • Canada
    2005–2024
    #501
    in 2024
  • South Australia
    1998–2012
    #871
    in 2012

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics, Statistics Canada and Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). ONS data under Open Government Licence v3.0. StatCan data under Statistics Canada Open Licence. CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0.

Brinley by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
#608
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Down 246
Best rank ever
#328
2017
Peak year
2017
1,000 that year
First recorded
1987
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
13,490
Count in 2025
481

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
Unranked
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
—
Best rank ever
#5,964
2013
Peak year
2013
14 that year
First recorded
1997
Last recorded
2023
All-time count
151
Count in 2025
Under 5

Names similar to Brinley

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

BrileyBrinkleyBrixleyBriellaBristolBrianneBrinnleyBritanyBridgettBritneyBrionnaBrigitteBrinsleyBrielleCharleyBrisleyBrigidBrinleeBrigetteKensleyAinsleyWhitleyWrenleyBritley

Names with a curve like Brinley

Not spelling — timing. These names rose, peaked and faded in the same years as Brinley, so they read as being from the same moment even when they look nothing alike.

AdelynnRaelynNylahGracelynAverieGracelynnBriellaBraelynnCharleighCharleeKensleyJourney

Sibling names for Brinley

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

Explore around Brinley

Top names of 2017, Brinley's peak yearThe 2010s in fullOther names that peaked in 2017Girls' names starting with B