Brian is a male given name of Irish and Breton origin, as well as a surname of Occitan origin. It is common in the English-speaking world. It is possible that the name is derived from an Old Celtic word meaning "high" or "noble". For example the element bre means "hill"; which could be transferred to mean "eminence" or "exalted one". The name is quite popular in Ireland, on account of Brian Boru, a 10th century king of Ireland. The name was also quite popular in East Anglia during the Middle Ages. This is because the name was introduced to England by Bretons following the Norman Conquest. Bretons also settled in Ireland along with the Normans in the 12th century, and 'their' name was mingled with the 'Irish' version. Also, in the north-west of England, the 'Irish' name was introduced by Scandinavian settlers from Ireland. Within the Gaelic speaking areas of Scotland, the name was at first only used by professional families of Irish origin. It was the fourth most popular male name in the United Kingdom in 1934, but a sharp decline followed over the remainder of the 20th century and by 1994 it had fallen out of the top 100.

Stayve Jerome Thomas (born September 8, 1980), better known as Slim Thug, Boss Hogg or Thug Boss, is an American rapper. He gained mainstream attention for his contribution to the popular single from rapper Mike Jones, "Still Tippin'".

Slim Thug grew up in Houston's Northside neighborhood of Homestead/Scenic Woods. Slim says that his rap name come from the fact that as a teenager, he was very tall and skinny before he filled out.^{[citation needed]} He stands 6'6" tall. The Thug part comes from people's assumptions of him due to his fresh braids and sunglasses.^{[citation needed]} At age 17, he performed freestyle raps at local high school parties. He began his rap career with Swishahouse in the late 1990s. After realizing how much money he could make distributing his own mixtapes, he parted ways with Swishahouse on good terms and formed his own independent label, Boss Hogg Outlawz. Thomas bought two record stores and worked in real estate.

Slim Thug's debut album with Star Trak Entertainment & Interscope Records, Already Platinum, was released in July 2005 after many delays. It premiered on #2 on the Billboard 200 albums chart and sold 130,000 copies in its first week. Singles included "3 Kings" (featuring T.I. and Bun B), and "I Ain't Heard of That" (featuring Pharrell and Bun B). Slim Thug appeared on Still Tippin' with Mike Jones and Paul Wall, Beyoncé Knowles's #1 single "Check on It" and Gwen Stefani's "Luxurious". With the Boss Hogg Outlawz, Slim Thug released three albums, Boyz N Blue (2004), Serve & Collect (2007) and Back by Blockular Demand: Serve & Collect II (2008). He left Star Trak & Interscope Records in 2008.

Brian Griffin is a character from the animated television series Family Guy. An anthropomorphic dog, he is voiced by Seth MacFarlane and first appeared on television, along with the rest of the family, in a 15-minute short on December 20, 1998. Brian was created and designed by MacFarlane himself. MacFarlane was asked to pitch a pilot to the Fox Broadcasting Company based on The Life of Larry and Larry & Steve, two shorts made by MacFarlane (the second one at Hanna-Barbera for Cartoon Network's "What-A-Cartoon" project) which featured a middle-aged character named Larry and an intellectual dog, Steve. After the pilot was given the green light, the Griffin family appeared on the episode "Death Has a Shadow".

Brian is a member of the Griffin family. He primarily works in the series as a struggling writer attempting essays, books, novels, screenplays and newspaper articles. His appearance was a redesign of the protagonist Steve from MacFarlane's previous animated short films, The Life of Larry & Steve. He has been featured in much of the Family Guy merchandise, including toys, t-shirts, and video games, and has made crossover appearances in the other MacFarlane-produced shows, American Dad! and The Cleveland Show.

Brian McKnight (born June 5, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter, arranger, producer, and R&B musician. He is a multi-instrumentalist who plays eight instruments including piano, guitar, bass guitar, percussion, trombone, tuba, flugelhorn and trumpet.. McKnight is perhaps most recognized for his strong falsetto range, and is widely regarded as one of the strongest talents in the adult urban contemporary R&B genre, although his recent efforts have received mixed reviews.

McKnight's work has earned him 16 Grammy Awards nominations, but currently holds the record for having won none.

McKnight was born in Buffalo, New York. His musical career began in childhood when he became a member of his church choir and a band leader for his high school, Sweet Home High School..

In 1987, McKnight's older brother, Claude McKnight III, and his band, Take 6, signed a record deal with Warner Brothers. This encouraged McKnight to shop his own demo tapes and by the age of 19, he'd signed his first recording deal with Mercury Records subsidiary, Wing Records. In 1992, Brian McKnight was released, and his self-titled debut peaked at fifty-eight in the Billboard 200 chart, which primarily featured the ballad (and top twenty single) "One Last Cry". It was followed by two more albums for Mercury, 1995's I Remember You and 1997's Anytime. Anytime, McKnight's final album with Mercury, sold over two million copies and was nominated for a Grammy. The video for "Anytime", directed by Darren Grant, was nominated for Best Male Video at the 1998 MTV Video Music Awards.

Brian Tracy (born January 5, 1944 in Charlottetown, PEI, Canada) is a self-help author and motivational speaker. He serves as Chairman of Brian Tracy International, a human resource company based in Solana Beach, California, with affiliates throughout the United States and thirty-one other countries.

After dropping out of high school before graduation, Tracy got a job on a tramp steamer and traveled around the world for eight years, eventually visiting more than eighty countries on five continents.

When he could no longer find a job as a laborer, he went into sales. Struggling at first, he decided to ask other successful salesmen for advice, and then to emulate them. By the end of his first year, he attained the status of top salesman. After his second year, he was made a Vice President in charge of 95 people. At the time he was only 25 years old.

Beginning in 1981, Tracy assembled his "success system", which was initially called "The Phoenix Seminar." Three years later, in 1985, he released an updated version of this seminar as a self-help audio tape entitled "The Psychology of Achievement".