An Irish name, O'Brien, with the Gaelic form of Ó Briain which means ‘descendant of Brian.’ In Ireland it is also spelled O’Byrne and Byrne.

In England in Lincolnshire, Kent, Lancashire, Cumbria and Cheshire counties are high;u populated with O‘Brien families. Just in the county of Lanarkshire, Scotland is located the O’Brien surname.

The states with O’Brien individuals are primarily in New York and then scattered into Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Michigan and Wisconsin.

Ireland first and then England are the main original regions for the O’Brien surname. In Ireland today, O'Brien is a very common surname.

Most O’Briens worked as laborers in the 1880s.

Famous: Billy O’Brien (late 19th century baseball player), Darcy O’Brien (true crime author), Tim O’Brien (American musician), Kyan L. O’Brien (music composer), John O’Brien (19thcentury Canadian maritime painter), Edna O’Brien (Irish novelist), Christian O’Brien (British geologist, author and historian), George H. O’Brien Jr. (Korean War Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient), Kate O’Brien (Irish writer, novelist and playwright), Soledad O’Brien (television journalist), Edwin Frederick O’Brien (Archbishop of Baltimore) and Conan O’Brien (comedian and talk show host).