Recorded 1912–2021 Boys' name Peak 1970 954 births

Barclay — boys' name

954 babies named Barclay in U.S. Social Security records since 1912, with the highest year being 1970. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.

1910s521920s591930s991940s1211950s1311960s1151970s1471980s1151990s712000s222010s162020s6
1970s
Peak decade

15% of everyone ever named Barclay was born in this single decade.

1970
Single peak year

26 babies were named Barclay in 1970 — its busiest year on record.

What the Data Says About Barclay

The Social Security Administration has registered 954 babies named Barclay between 1912 and 2021, spanning 110 consecutive years of U.S. birth records. As a boy's name, Barclay currently falls outside the top 1,000 boys' names for 2021. The name reached its historical peak in 1970, when 26 babies received it in a single year.

Decade-level aggregation shows that Barclay performed strongest in the 1970s, accumulating 147 births during that ten-year window. Across the 12 decades of recorded activity, Barclay shows a clear decline from its mid-century high. Geographically, the name is most concentrated in California, which accounts for 5 births — the largest state-level total in the dataset — followed by . In total, SSA state-level files list Barclay in 1 of the 51 U.S. reporting jurisdictions.

No etymological entry is currently available for Barclay in our reference dataset. These figures derive from SSA's annual national and state-level name files, which include any name appearing at least five times in a given year or state-year; names below that threshold are suppressed for privacy and therefore excluded from the totals shown here. The 954 total represents a lower bound — actual usage may be higher in years or states where the count fell below the disclosure floor. This page is provided for informational and research purposes only and does not constitute personal, legal, or naming advice.

Barclay at a glance

Last recorded 2021

Total births

954

Since 1912

110 years of records

Peak year

1970

26 births that year

Strongest decade: 1970s

Current rank

Unranked

Outside the modern top-1,000

As of 2021

Active since

1912

Recorded for 110 years

Last year on file: 2021

Barclay popularity over time — boys

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 2021–1912

Last recorded 2021
Peak year (1970)
26
Annual births at peak — across 110 years of records
051015202530 202119941982197019581946193419191912 6

Barclay popularity over time — girls

24 total births recorded since 1969 (Barclay as girls' name)

Unisex variant — 24 births
45678910 1976197419701969 9

Barclay by decade

Total births in each ten-year window — peak vs trough at a glance

Peak: 1970s
Peak decade
1970s
147 births that decade — 15% of Barclay's all-time total
1910s521920s591930s991940s1211950s1311960s1151970s1471980s1151990s712000s222010s162020s6

Barclay by state

Where Barclay concentrates geographically — total births since 1912

Geographically diffuse
Top 1 states by recorded births for the name Barclay
Rank State Visual share Births Share of total
#1 California
5 0.5%
California share of Barclay's total US births 0.5%

5 of 954 births nationwide.

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Barclay?
954 babies have been named Barclay since 1912. It was last recorded in 2021. The peak year was 1970 with 26 births.
When was Barclay most popular?
Barclay was most popular in the 1970s decade with 147 total births. The single peak year was 1970.
Where is Barclay most popular?
The top states for the name Barclay are California (5 births).
How long has the name Barclay been used?
Barclay has been recorded in Social Security data since 1912, spanning 110 years of data through 2021.
What names are similar to Barclay?
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Barry, Barrett, Bart, Barney, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for boys.

Data Sources

Data as of 2024. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).

Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications — National Data, 1912–2021 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames). National-level data includes all names with 5 or more occurrences in a given year.

State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names — State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip). Includes all names with 5 or more occurrences per state per year; rarer names are excluded for privacy.