Brien surname: U.S. census count, rank and records | FamilyCrests

The Brien surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 2,882 people carried this name — #11,031 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 102,000 people counted. That is up 12% from 2,565 in 2000.

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In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890

Ireland registered 246 births for the Brien name in 1890.

They were registered in all four provinces, most of all in Munster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 10,900 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. The Registrar-General’s note on the name: “Cork, Dublin, Tipperary, Wexford, and Waterford.”

Where it concentrates, on the map

Where they were born, 1890

Munster 122
Leinster 110
Connacht 9
Ulster 5

Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.

In France’s civil register

France’s register of deaths holds 459 people named Brien.

4 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 34 départements, most often Morbihan.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Where they were born

Born outside France 4
Morbihan 145
Manche 111
Paris 33
Côtes-d’Armor 18
Eure 15
Somme 14
Loire-Atlantique 13
Ille-et-Vilaine 13

Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.

In Belgium’s population register

At least 30 people named Brien live in Belgium.

Statbel only publishes a name in a municipality when five or more people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Limburg.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Limburg 15
Liège 9
East Flanders 6

Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.

In print

Brien in American newspapers,
1880.

Newspaper page from The Republican carrying the name Brien
The Republican 1880-03-20
Newspaper page from Ashtabula Weekly Telegraph carrying the name Brien
Ashtabula Weekly Telegraph 1880-03-05
Newspaper page from The Cincinnati Daily Star carrying the name Brien
The Cincinnati Daily Star 1880-04-05

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 59,685 pages in all carry the name.

Who carried it

People named Brien,
with a public archive behind them.

  • John Wesley Brien
    John Wesley Brien 1864–1949 · physician
  • Lawrence Brien d. 1908 · politician
  • Lawrence Brien d. 1908 · politician
  • Rebecca Brien d. 1831
  • Rosanna Caroline Brien d. 1854
  • Urbain Desrochers 1781–1860 · wood carver

Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Brien.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Brien is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

See what a volume holds
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