O'Brien

UK/əˈbɹaɪən/US/oʊˈbɹaɪən/

proper noun

A surname from Irish.

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Meanings

proper nounO'Brien (countable and uncountable, plural O'Briens)

plural O'Briens

  1. countableuncountableA surname from Irish.

    Landlady: O'Brien? He don't live here any more. Not lived here for months. I made him sling his hook. Never paid his lodgings.

    2007 March 6, Julie Rutterford, Life on Mars, Season 2, Episode 3
  2. A number of places in the United States:
    1. countableuncountableAn unincorporated community in Shasta County, California.
    2. countableuncountableAn unincorporated community in Suwannee County, Florida.
    3. countableuncountableA census-designated place in Josephine County, Oregon.
    4. countableuncountableA minor city in Haskell County, Texas.
    5. countableuncountableAn unincorporated community in Barbour County, West Virginia.
  3. countableuncountableA town in Buenos Aires province, Argentina, also known as Eduardo O'Brien.

Origin

Anglicisation of the Irish surname Ó Briain, meaning “descendant of Brian”.

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with O'Brien

brianRyantionIanionlionBryanHawaiianOrionlienzionsionscioncyanMayanpsionprionarionGaianGeminianskyan
All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

O'Brien. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/O'Brien

MLA

“O'Brien.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/O'Brien. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “O'Brien,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/O'Brien.

Source: O'Brien on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.