Entry № 0429 · Irish, English origin

Brianna Brianna — Meaning, Origin & Baby Name Popularity

/ bree-AN-ah /
Gender
Girl
Origin
Irish, English
Meaning
"Noble / strong (Brianna Keilar, CNN anchor; Outlander's Brianna)"
Syllables
3
Rank · US 2025
№ 320
First recorded
Modern (English)

A name that means "noble / strong (brianna keilar, cnn anchor; outlander's brianna)".

Brianna is the English feminine of Brian — from the Old Irish *Brígh* ("noble, high, strong") — first popularized in Edmund Spenser's *The Faerie Queene* (1590). **A top-20 US baby name from 1991 to 2007, peaking at #14 in 2002**. **Brianna Keilar (born 1980)** — **American journalist of Australian-Cuban heritage; co-anchor of CNN's *CNN News Central* (2023-present); previously *New Day* (2021-2023) and *CNN Right Now with Brianna Keilar* (2018-2021); one of the most-recognized faces of CNN's primetime/morning lineup of the 2020s**. **Author of *Saving 9: A Veterans Resilience Project* (2024), focused on military and veteran mental health**. **Brianna Randall Fraser** — heroine of Diana Gabaldon's *Outlander* book series (1991-present) — the 20th-century time-traveling daughter of Claire and Jamie Fraser; played by Sophie Skelton in the Starz adaptation (2014-present). **Brianna Hildebrand** (born 1996) — *Deadpool* (2016) and *Deadpool 2* (2018) as Negasonic Teenage Warhead. **Brianna Decker** — American Olympic gold-medalist hockey player (Pyeongchang 2018). **Brianna Wu** — American video-game developer and US Congressional candidate; one of the central figures of the 2014 Gamergate controversy. **Brianna LaPaglia** (Brianna Chickenfry) — popular American podcaster and influencer.

Featured throughout 1990s-2020s American culture.

Noble / strong. Brianna Keilar anchors CNN News Central; Outlander's Brianna Fraser.

The name in its native script.

Brianna
Transliteration
Brianna
Pronunciation
/ briˈæn.ə /
Root
Grammatical form

Where Brianna stands.

Current rank · 2025
№ 320 in the U.S.
All-time peak
№ 14 in 2002
Babies named Brianna · last year
980 in the U.S.
First entered SSA top-1000
1976
Rank, 1995–2025 Lower = more popular
№25 №75 №150 №250 1995 2005 2015 2020 2025 PEAK · #14 NOW · #320

Briannas before her.

Real people
Brianna Keilar
American CNN anchor.
born 1980
Brianna Hildebrand
American actress.
born 1996
Brianna Decker
American Olympic gold-medalist hockey player.
born 1991
In fiction
Brianna Fraser
Outlander.
1991

Names connected to Brianna.

The number behind Brianna.

6

The Nurturer

Brianna reduces to six — the number of Outlander's heroine.

Why families chose this name.

"Keilar's nobility. Seven letters. Brianna."
Aoife · Mother of one · Canberra