Barbara
Barbara was given to 264 girls in 2025, #968 among girls’ names; 1,440,831 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 800,000 Americans named Barbara and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (56% of everyone recorded); the median is 74 years old and half are between 66 and 80.
Barbara is the #12 most common first name among living American women and girls, by this estimate.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Barbara by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Barbara mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Barbara is “a female given name from Latin.” Its etymology gives the sense “strange, foreign” (βάρβαρος).
From Latin Barbara, the name of Saint Barbara, feminine form of barbarus, from Ancient Greek βάρβαρος (bárbaros, “strange, foreign”). Doublet of Varvara.
(logic): From the given name; chosen because it has three A’s in it representing universal affirmatives.
/ˈbɑɹb(ə)ɹə/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Barbara?
#968 among girls’ names, 2025
Barbara fell from #850 in 2015 to #968 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born fell from 0.18 to 0.16 per 1,000.
48,889 babies in 1947, the peak
Barbara peaked in 1947, when 48,889 babies were given it (48,800 girls, #4 among girls’ names). The 264 births of 2025 are under 1% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 264 | #968 | 0.16 |
| 2024 | 317 | #853 | 0.20 |
| 2023 | 308 | #871 | 0.19 |
| 2022 | 276 | #967 | 0.17 |
| 2021 | 299 | #904 | 0.18 |
| 2020 | 301 | #886 | 0.19 |
| 2019 | 287 | #922 | 0.17 |
| 2018 | 291 | #921 | 0.17 |
| 2017 | 303 | #890 | 0.18 |
| 2016 | 329 | #856 | 0.19 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 329 | #850 | 0.18 |
| 2014 | 326 | #848 | 0.18 |
| 2013 | 321 | #831 | 0.18 |
| 2012 | 296 | #894 | 0.17 |
| 2011 | 369 | #746 | 0.21 |
| 2010 | 412 | #692 | 0.23 |
| 2009 | 465 | #639 | 0.25 |
| 2008 | 397 | #747 | 0.21 |
| 2007 | 482 | #618 | 0.25 |
| 2006 | 554 | #538 | 0.29 |
| 2005 | 412 | #674 | 0.22 |
| 2004 | 438 | #623 | 0.24 |
| 2003 | 437 | #614 | 0.24 |
| 2002 | 509 | #541 | 0.28 |
| 2001 | 502 | #533 | 0.28 |
| 2000 | 534 | #505 | 0.29 |
| 1999 | 563 | #468 | 0.32 |
| 1998 | 579 | #447 | 0.33 |
| 1997 | 700 | #378 | 0.40 |
| 1996 | 682 | #388 | 0.39 |
| 1995 | 758 | #347 | 0.43 |
| 1994 | 871 | #312 | 0.49 |
| 1993 | 951 | #291 | 0.53 |
| 1992 | 1,128 | #247 | 0.61 |
| 1991 | 1,239 | #229 | 0.66 |
| 1990 | 1,388 | #207 | 0.73 |
| 1989 | 1,493 | #186 | 0.81 |
| 1988 | 1,505 | #185 | 0.85 |
| 1987 | 1,632 | #172 | 0.94 |
| 1986 | 1,488 | #180 | 0.87 |
| 1985 | 1,677 | #169 | 1.0 |
| 1984 | 1,867 | #152 | 1.1 |
| 1983 | 2,020 | #143 | 1.2 |
| 1982 | 2,348 | #130 | 1.4 |
| 1981 | 2,531 | #119 | 1.5 |
| 1980 | 2,578 | #120 | 1.6 |
| 1979 | 2,493 | #123 | 1.6 |
| 1978 | 2,579 | #113 | 1.7 |
| 1977 | 2,845 | #101 | 1.9 |
| 1976 | 2,968 | #98 | 2.0 |
| 1975 | 3,454 | #83 | 2.4 |
| 1974 | 3,906 | #77 | 2.7 |
| 1973 | 4,433 | #63 | 3.0 |
| 1972 | 5,080 | #58 | 3.3 |
| 1971 | 6,453 | #47 | 3.9 |
| 1970 | 8,026 | #41 | 4.6 |
| 1969 | 8,811 | #39 | 5.2 |
| 1968 | 9,740 | #36 | 5.9 |
| 1967 | 11,203 | #33 | 6.8 |
| 1966 | 13,123 | #27 | 7.8 |
| 1965 | 14,023 | #25 | 7.9 |
| 1964 | 16,481 | #19 | 8.7 |
| 1963 | 18,295 | #17 | 9.5 |
| 1962 | 20,641 | #14 | 10.5 |
| 1961 | 23,002 | #12 | 11.4 |
| 1960 | 24,454 | #12 | 12.1 |
| 1959 | 25,359 | #11 | 12.5 |
| 1958 | 27,874 | #9 | 13.9 |
| 1957 | 29,692 | #9 | 14.5 |
| 1956 | 32,302 | #9 | 16.1 |
| 1955 | 33,617 | #7 | 17.2 |
| 1954 | 36,368 | #7 | 18.7 |
| 1953 | 38,473 | #6 | 20.5 |
| 1952 | 39,864 | #6 | 21.5 |
| 1951 | 40,617 | #5 | 22.6 |
| 1950 | 41,556 | #4 | 24.3 |
| 1949 | 42,600 | #4 | 24.9 |
| 1948 | 46,826 | #3 | 27.6 |
| 1947 | 48,800 | #4 | 27.5 |
| 1946 | 45,126 | #4 | 28.7 |
| 1945 | 38,273 | #3 | 29.3 |
| 1944 | 39,196 | #2 | 29.5 |
| 1943 | 43,432 | #2 | 31.1 |
| 1942 | 44,739 | #2 | 33.1 |
| 1941 | 39,543 | #2 | 32.7 |
| 1940 | 36,736 | #2 | 32.1 |
| 1939 | 37,257 | #2 | 34.0 |
| 1938 | 39,277 | #2 | 35.6 |
| 1937 | 34,917 | #2 | 32.8 |
| 1936 | 31,682 | #3 | 30.5 |
| 1935 | 30,698 | #3 | 29.3 |
| 1934 | 29,239 | #3 | 28.0 |
| 1933 | 26,949 | #3 | 26.7 |
| 1932 | 26,318 | #3 | 24.7 |
| 1931 | 21,804 | #4 | 20.5 |
| 1930 | 18,279 | #6 | 16.2 |
| 1929 | 16,038 | #7 | 14.4 |
| 1928 | 14,872 | #8 | 12.9 |
| 1927 | 13,161 | #10 | 11.0 |
| 1926 | 11,079 | #16 | 9.3 |
| 1925 | 9,155 | #22 | 7.5 |
| 1924 | 8,305 | #28 | 6.7 |
| 1923 | 7,209 | #33 | 6.0 |
| 1922 | 6,272 | #40 | 5.2 |
| 1921 | 6,013 | #40 | 4.9 |
| 1920 | 5,106 | #47 | 4.3 |
| 1919 | 4,084 | #60 | 3.6 |
| 1918 | 4,224 | #60 | 3.6 |
| 1917 | 3,535 | #67 | 3.3 |
| 1916 | 3,112 | #74 | 3.0 |
| 1915 | 2,704 | #83 | 2.7 |
| 1914 | 2,061 | #82 | 2.7 |
| 1913 | 1,451 | #94 | 2.3 |
| 1912 | 1,184 | #102 | 2.1 |
| 1911 | 737 | #119 | 1.8 |
| 1910 | 612 | #136 | 1.5 |
| 1909 | 567 | #126 | 1.6 |
| 1908 | 514 | #135 | 1.5 |
| 1907 | 515 | #129 | 1.6 |
| 1906 | 413 | #142 | 1.4 |
| 1905 | 366 | #154 | 1.3 |
| 1904 | 357 | #151 | 1.3 |
| 1903 | 346 | #151 | 1.3 |
| 1902 | 306 | #163 | 1.2 |
| 1901 | 277 | #164 | 1.2 |
| 1900 | 338 | #162 | 1.1 |
| 1899 | 273 | #165 | 1.2 |
| 1898 | 304 | #164 | 1.2 |
| 1897 | 299 | #153 | 1.3 |
| 1896 | 324 | #145 | 1.4 |
| 1895 | 298 | #150 | 1.3 |
| 1894 | 290 | #151 | 1.3 |
| 1893 | 255 | #155 | 1.2 |
| 1892 | 278 | #147 | 1.3 |
| 1891 | 221 | #152 | 1.2 |
| 1890 | 241 | #147 | 1.3 |
| 1889 | 246 | #140 | 1.4 |
| 1888 | 253 | #135 | 1.4 |
| 1887 | 204 | #132 | 1.4 |
| 1886 | 207 | #133 | 1.4 |
| 1885 | 195 | #129 | 1.5 |
| 1884 | 193 | #128 | 1.5 |
| 1883 | 135 | #142 | 1.2 |
| 1882 | 130 | #138 | 1.2 |
| 1881 | 130 | #124 | 1.4 |
| 1880 | 127 | #128 | 1.4 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Barbara a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Barbara has been given almost only to girls: 4,136 boys in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Barbara: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Barbara, and how old are they?
800,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 56% of the 1,440,831 Americans ever recorded as Barbara. The median Barbara alive today is 74 years old; half are between 66 and 80.
The 2020 Census counted 943,006 people named Barbara (942,288 women and girls, 718 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 957,874 born in the U.S. The Census count is 2% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 195,000 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 477,000 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 93,300 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 23,000 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 7,560 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 3,930 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Barbara born?
The states with the most babies named Barbara are New York, Pennsylvania and California, with 24% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 147,623 | #914 | 1.2× |
| Pennsylvania | 102,291 | #416 | 1.1× |
| California | 87,772 | #1,115 | 0.9× |
| Illinois | 83,063 | #810 | 1.1× |
| Ohio | 79,336 | #894 | 1.1× |
| Michigan | 66,792 | #796 | 1.1× |
| Texas | 58,568 | #714 | 0.7× |
| New Jersey | 53,704 | not ranked | 1.3× |
| Massachusetts | 51,933 | not ranked | 1.2× |
| North Carolina | 38,453 | #1,299 | 0.8× |
Where Barbara is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Barbara is most over-represented in New Jersey: since 1910 it was given 1.3 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among girls’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Barbara with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 5 names spelled alike, given to 1,448,988 babies since 1880, Barbara is the most given (99% of them). In 2025 it was given to 264 of their 264 babies (100%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Barbara
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Barbara and names like it
- Compare Barbara and BarbraBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1940sBarbara peaked in 1947.
- New York’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Barbara since 1910.
- Latin namesWiktionary’s origin for Barbara: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1947The year the most babies were named Barbara.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Barbara alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with BMost given first.