Meanings
brian1
present singular third person brians · participle present brianing · participle past brianed · past brianed
Brian2
alternative Bryan · alternative Bryon
- A male given name from Irish.
Chili’s has also enlisted several actors from “The Office” to star in the ads, including Melora Hardin (Jan Levinson), Andy Buckley (David Wallace), Brian Baumgartner (Kevin Malone) and Kate Flannery (Meredith Palmer).
2025 March 26, Jordan Valinsky, “Chili’s is opening a retro restaurant in Scranton that celebrates ‘The Office’”, in CNN Business, archived from the original on 16 Apr 20252 more examples
"What the deuce is their fancy for calling the young beggar Brian?" he inquired."Is it Brian Boroimhe they have gone back to, or is it some of her people, or what?" "There was a good Drewitt once," answered Wilhelmina, "- - - and his name was Brian. - - - And Nannie told her, too, how a child always strains after the person it is called after, and how luck follows names, and worked her up to such a pit finally, that nothing would do her but the young gentleman must be called Brian and accordingly Brian he is - Brian Archibald. It is not an easy name to make fun out of; so all I can do is to call him Brin Baldy.
1865, Charlotte Eliza L. Riddell, Maxwell Drewitt, London: Tinsley Brothers, pages 255–256Why oh why had his parents even considered Brian? Brian is someone who works in a hardware shop or fixes the U bend. What chance did Sir Lovesdaslutalot have in life with a name like Brian? You can't even shorten Brian to Bri without it sounding like a kind of cheese!
2008, Phill Young, FarArc, Author House, →ISBN, page 145 - A surname.
Origin
brian · verb
- Proto-Indo-European*bʰrenu-“burn, fire”
- Proto-Germanic*bruniz“fire, burning”
- Old Englishbryne“a burning, conflagration, fire, flame, heat, inflammation, burn, scald, torch, fervor, passion”
- Middle Englishbrüne“a burn, a burning”
- Englishbrian
From dialectal English, probably variant of brine (“to burn”), from brine (“a burning”), from Middle English brüne (“a burn, a burning”), from Old English bryne (“a burning, conflagration, fire, flame, heat, inflammation, burn, scald, torch, fervor, passion”), from Proto-Germanic *bruniz (“fire, burning”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰrenu- (“burn, fire”). Cognate with Scots brin (“a flash”), Scots brin, bryne (“to be on fire, be inflamed, burn”), Old Norse bruni (“fire, burning”). More at burn.
More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-Germanic
Full word history & related roots →Brian · proper noun
- IrishBrian
- EnglishBrian
Borrowed from Irish Brian. Doublet of Brendan.
More words from Irish
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic بْرَايَن
- بْرَايَن (brāyan)male given name
Chinese Mandarin 布賴恩 /布赖恩, 布萊恩 /布莱恩
- 布賴恩 /布赖恩 (Bùlài'ēn)male given name
- 布萊恩 /布莱恩 (Bùlái'ēn)male given name
Esperanto Brajan
- Brajanmale given name
Greek Μπράιαν
- Μπράιαν (Bráian)male given name
Hawaiian Palaina
- Palainamale given name
Icelandic Brjánn
- Brjánnmale given name
Irish Brian
- Brianmale given name
Japanese ブライアン
- ブライアン (Buraian)male given name
Korean 브라이언
- 브라이언 (Beuraieon)male given name
Persian برایان
- برایان (berâyân)male given name
Russian Бра́йан
- Бра́йан (Brájan)male given name
Ukrainian Бра́ян
- Бра́ян (Brájan)male given name
Vietnamese Brai-ơn
- Brai-ơnmale given name
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with brian
Anagrams
Cite this entry
brian. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/brian
“brian.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/brian. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “brian,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/brian.
Source: brian on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.