Boy name origins & meanings Irish : Strong Boy name variations Bryan Bryon Bryant Brien Briant Briand Briann Brianne Briano Brainao Briaun Family name origins & meanings Irish and English : variant spelling of Bryan.French and English : from the Celtic personal name Brian, which contains the element bre- ‘hill’, with the transferred sense ‘eminence’. See also Bryan.French : nickname from Old Occitan brian ‘maggot’. Famous people who gave their babies this name Nancy Kerrigan