Name of the Week: Bryony

 

 

Origin:

Bryony is a botanical name, given to a wild twining hedgerow and woodland plant. There are two types: white bryony and black bryony, both of which have white flowers and bear berries. The Latin name of the plant is Bryonia, derived from the Greek βρύω (bruō) "to swell, to teem with fruit, to be full, to abound," most likely referring to the plant's ability to grow swiftly and luxuriantly.

Usage:

Bryony Brooke, 1911 census (click to enlarge) The first record of the name appears in Scotland in 1877. Briony Rebe Pearl Brooke was born on the 13th April 1877 in Falkirk to an Irish father who was a rector and English mother. Her name (as written by her father in his own hand) was spelled "Bryony" on the 1911 English census. Her sisters sported the names Myrtle Katinka Carrie Honor, Avens Selena Rebecca Amy and Orpine Lucy Saurin -- all are the names of plants -- so her parents were clearly inspired by nature.  There were no other registrations for Bryony/Briony in after that Scotland until 1912.  The first registration for Bryony in England and Wales is 1897. Bryony Murray-Morgan's birth was registered in July-September 1897 and death (under the name Briony Murray-Morgan) in October-December of the same year. [There is a transcribed record of a Bryony Kerry in 1859, but other records show that this was in fact Bryan Kerry]. As there are no other records for this child, it is impossible to tell their gender.  The name was not registered again in England and Wales until 1905; the spelling Briony was first registered in 1931. A breakdown of the number of registrations in E&W for Bryony and Briony per decade are as follow:   Bryony Briony 1900s: 1910s: 1920s: 1930s: 1940s: 1950s: 1960s: 1 birth 4 births 4 births 13 birth 95 births 183 births 258 births 0 births 0 births 0 births 5 births 80 births 145 births 205 births The sudden upswing in the 1940s, particularly in the spelling Briony, can be explained by the character Sister Briony in Rumer Godden's 1939 novel Black Narcissus, which was made into a film in 1947. Briony is mentioned as a name inspired by film in this newspaper article from the Essex Newsman in 1948.  Leslie Dunkling's sample for girls named Bryony in every 10,000 births are as follows: 1900 1925 1935 1950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990   -   -    -    -    -    -    2    2    2    -   4   14 click to enlarge Both Bryony and Briony were at a peak in 1996 ranking #129 (362 births) and #346 (99 births) respectively. Both declined after that point, and by 2009, Bryony was just outside the top 500, and Briony the top 1000.  In Scotland, Bryony had been gradually rising since 1974, peaking at #176 (24 births) in 1998. After that it declined, and has been at a plateau between #600-#700 since 2009.  In 2015, Bryony ranked #1114 (34 births) in England and Wales and #1055 (2 births) in Scotland. Briony ranked  #1711 (17 births) in England and Wales. It did not rank at all in Scotland.

Famous Bearers:

Contemporary: * Bryony Lavery (b. 1947), British playwright. * Briony Behets (b. 1951), Australian actress. * Briony McRoberts (1957-2013), British actress. * Bryony Brind (b. 1960), British ballerina. * Briony Williams (b. 1965), Australian actress. * Bryony Worthington, Baroness Worthington (b. 1971), British environmental campaigner and Labour life peer in the House of Lords. * Bryony Gordon (b. 1980), British journalist.  * Bryony Afferson (b. 1983), British actress. * Briony Cole (b. 1983), Australian Olympic diver.  * Bryony Shaw (b. 1983), British Olympic windsurfer. * Bryony Hannah (1984), British actress. * Briony Stewart (b. 1984), Australian novelist and illustrator. * Bryony Page (b. 1990), British individual trampolinist. Literature and Other Media: * Briony Tallis, character in Ian McEwan's "Atonement" * Briony Campbell, character on soap "EastEnders" * Briony Eddon, character in Tad William's "Shadowmarch" * Bryony, mouse character in Brian Jacques' "Outcast of Redwall"

Variants:

Briony, Bryonie

Pronunciation:

BRĪ-ə-nee [key]

Possible  diminutives:

Bry, Bree, Bee, Binny

Sibling Names:

Tamsin     Willa     Cassia     Rhiannon     Fiona     Zara  Alistair     Rowan    Lorcan     Finnian     Ellis     Tristan

Name Lists:

N/A

  

If you like Bryony you may also like:   Betony, Clover, Briar, Calla, Tamara, Robyn, Bethan, Felicity, Amara, Sidonie, Ferne

 

Thanks to Chamali for requesting this name.