Briony

Greek, "to sprout, to swell"

One of Nameberry’s favorite girl names, Briony gained notoriety after appearing in Ian McEwan’s 2001 critically renowned novel Atonement and its subsequent movie adaptation, released on December 7, 2007. Briony means “to sprout”, so it works well as a nature name, and it retains appeal as a literary name. Briony is sophisticated without feeling stuffy.

Briony is a variation and Bryony the original spelling of the name. But no babies were given the name in either spelling in the US last year, making it a fabulous classic but rare choice.