Fun Facts About the Name Brigham
- More than 3 thousand babies named Brigham: U.S. records list 3,371 babies given the name Brigham from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Brigham Mean?
Brigham is an English place name and surname meaning "homestead by the bridge." It is formed from Old English brycg, "bridge," and hām, "homestead, village, estate." In northern England, where Norse settlement shaped many place names, the same compound may instead pair Old Norse bryggja, "bridge, landing place," with heimr, "home, homestead." The two explanations produce the same general sense, and the name is not biblical or classical in origin.
Villages called Brigham include Brigham in the East Riding of Yorkshire and Brigham in Cumberland, now part of Cumbria, near Cockermouth. The second element belongs to the very common English place-name ending -ham, found in hundreds of village names, though that ending can descend from either Old English hām or Old Norse heimr depending on the region. The ending angle is shared with many names; what distinguishes Brigham is the "bridge" element in front of it.
Brigham Name History & Origins
Brigham is recorded as an English surname from the medieval period, taken from one or more of the villages of that name. In medieval documents a person was commonly identified by his village with the preposition de, so forms such as de Brigham appear alongside the bare surname.
The surname crossed the Atlantic with English emigrants. Thomas Brigham, born in England around 1603, settled in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and was among the founders of Sudbury, Massachusetts, where he died in 1653. He is an ancestor of Brigham Young (1801 - 1877), who was born in Whitingham, Vermont, became the second president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and led the migration of Mormon pioneers to the Salt Lake Valley in 1847. Young later served as governor of the Utah Territory, and Brigham City, Utah, and Brigham Young University in Provo are named for him.
The name also appears in American institutions through other bearers of the surname: Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston traces its name to Peter Bent Brigham (1807 - 1877), a Boston businessman whose bequest established the hospital. As a first name, Brigham is used mainly in the United States and is closely associated with Brigham Young; in Britain and Ireland it remains almost entirely a surname.
How Popular is the Name Brigham?
Brigham has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 2011. Its best rank was #1,257 in 2011.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #1,888 | 83 | 0.0049% |
| 2024 | #2,186 | 66 | 0.0038% |
| 2023 | #2,149 | 67 | 0.0039% |
| 2022 | #2,272 | 63 | 0.0036% |
| 2021 | #1,710 | 95 | 0.0054% |
| 2020 | #1,680 | 94 | 0.0054% |
| 2019 | #1,670 | 96 | 0.0054% |
| 2018 | #1,584 | 105 | 0.0058% |
| 2017 | #1,510 | 110 | 0.0059% |
| 2016 | #1,443 | 120 | 0.0063% |
| 2015 | #1,590 | 101 | 0.0053% |
| 2014 | #1,467 | 111 | 0.0058% |
| 2013 | #1,321 | 130 | 0.0069% |
| 2012 | #1,315 | 130 | 0.0069% |
| 2011 | #1,257 | 137 | 0.0072% |
| 2010 | #1,544 | 104 | 0.0054% |
| 2009 | #1,655 | 95 | 0.0048% |
| 2008 | #1,603 | 98 | 0.0048% |
| 2007 | #1,608 | 97 | 0.0047% |
| 2006 | #1,584 | 92 | 0.0045% |
| 2005 | #1,676 | 80 | 0.0040% |
| 2004 | #1,582 | 83 | 0.0042% |
| 2003 | #1,720 | 71 | 0.0036% |
| 2002 | #1,460 | 87 | 0.0045% |
| 2001 | #1,416 | 88 | 0.0045% |
| 2000 | #1,613 | 73 | 0.0037% |
| 1999 | #1,801 | 55 | 0.0029% |
| 1998 | #1,681 | 61 | 0.0032% |
| 1997 | #1,602 | 63 | 0.0033% |
| 1996 | #2,335 | 34 | 0.0018% |
| 1995 | #2,300 | 34 | 0.0018% |
| 1994 | #2,354 | 33 | 0.0017% |
| 1993 | #3,156 | 21 | 0.0011% |
| 1992 | #3,120 | 21 | 0.0011% |
| 1991 | #2,760 | 24 | 0.0012% |
| 1990 | #3,067 | 20 | 0.0010% |
| 1989 | #2,484 | 26 | 0.0013% |
| 1988 | #2,441 | 24 | 0.0013% |
| 1987 | #2,738 | 19 | 0.0010% |
| 1986 | #2,612 | 20 | 0.0011% |
| 1985 | #2,434 | 21 | 0.0011% |
| 1984 | #2,105 | 25 | 0.0014% |
| 1983 | #2,502 | 19 | 0.0011% |
| 1982 | #1,857 | 30 | 0.0017% |
| 1981 | #1,773 | 32 | 0.0018% |
| 1980 | #1,734 | 33 | 0.0018% |
| 1979 | #2,320 | 21 | 0.0012% |
| 1978 | #2,140 | 22 | 0.0013% |
| 1977 | #1,786 | 29 | 0.0018% |
| 1976 | #2,431 | 18 | 0.0011% |
| 1975 | #2,214 | 20 | 0.0013% |
| 1974 | #2,135 | 20 | 0.0013% |
| 1973 | #2,521 | 15 | 0.0010% |
| 1972 | #2,441 | 15 | 0.0009% |
| 1971 | #2,577 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 1970 | #2,912 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1969 | #2,430 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 1968 | #2,330 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 1967 | #2,627 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1966 | #3,572 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1965 | #3,272 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1964 | #3,318 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1963 | #4,108 | 5 | 0.0002% |
| 1962 | #2,687 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1960 | #3,122 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1959 | #3,656 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1928 | #4,227 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1916 | #3,976 | 5 | 0.0006% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Brigham Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You can go to great heights and equally great depths. You are emotional and fixed in your opinions. You are hospitable, sentimental, often psychic, sometimes moody. You are ruled by love and the lack of it and feel a need to be encouraged and appreciated. You are intuitive and might be interested in the arts, drama or science.
Dependable, very down-to-earth and well grounded, you are always looking for meaningful work, a career where you can take pride in your work and do the best job you are capable of. Your prime desire is to build protected and secure environment at home and at work. You can be very persuasive in achieving goals and gaining objectives. You can be very detailed and well-organized and possess great organizational skills. At times you may appear too stubborn and overly critical to others, but your practical approach to life and productivity makes you one of the most beneficent members of community.
✦ Brigham's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Brigham's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.