Brian

Brian (sometimes spelled Bryan) 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 England and Wales 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. It retained its popularity in the United States for longer; its most popular period there was from 1968–1979 when it consistently ranked between eighth and tenth.

Brian Joo

Brian Joo (Hangul: 브라이언 주; born January 10, 1981), better known as simply Brian, is an American R&B and K-pop recording artist who is based in the United States and South Korea. He is better known as one-half of the R&B duo Fly to the Sky. His solo album, The Brian was released in December 2006. His 2nd solo album, Manifold was released in December 2009.

He had two birth names: as Brian Gintaek Joo for American, and Joo Jin-taek (Hangul: 주진택) for Korean. Later, he changed both of his real names to Brian Minkyu Joo for American and Joo Min-kyoo (Hangul: 주민규) for Korean.

Early life

Joo was born in Los Angeles, California to Korean immigrants. The family later moved to Absecon, New Jersey. Brian's parents are employed at casinos in Atlantic City and has a brother who is an Officer in the US Navy.

While attending Holy Spirit High School, a friend signed him up for an audition with Brothers Entertainment without Joo's acknowledgement. The company has discovered several Korean-Americans who wish to pursue an entertainment career in South Korea. After several months of training, he was sent to SM Entertainment in South Korea, and on December 9, 1999, made his debut as one of the two members of Fly to the Sky, along with Hwanhee, at the age of 17.