Boys' name · since 1920
Barkley
318 babies named Barkley in U.S. Social Security records since 1920, with the highest year being 1994. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #10,256 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #10,816 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 318
- born since 1920
- 1950s
- peak decade
318 babies have been named Barkley since 1920, making it today's #10816 boys' name.
Social Security Administration records show Barkley recorded 318 times among boys since 1920, holding rank #10816 nationally today, ahead of 22% of boys, peaking in the 1950s. This profile derives year-by-year birth trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1920 to 2025.
- #10,256 of 45,481 all-time among boys
- #10,816 of 13,930 2025 SSA year
- 318 born since 1920
- 1950s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Barkley ranks #10,256 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #10,816 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. 318 born since 1920, peaking in the 1950s.
- #10,256 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #10,816 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 318
- born since 1920
- 1950s
- peak decade
Barkley's 318 recorded births place it above 77.41% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.
No state rows cleared SSA’s public reporting threshold for this name.
How Barkley compares
318 47th percentile among 13,930 names currently given to boys
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked boys names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Barkley's all-time total is 14% below the median boys name, and Liam still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Barkley | Median boys name (Takari) | #1 boys name (Liam) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 318 | 369 | 358,536 |
| Peak-year births | 17 | 34 | 22,252 |
Barkley's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Barkley splits its recorded history at 1961: 50% of all births land in the more recent half, 50% in the earlier half, an evenly balanced pattern over time. The single quietest year was 1927 (5 births) -- compare that against the 1994 peak of 17 for a sense of just how much the name's popularity has swung.
Barkley popularity over time - boys
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1920–2025
- Peak year (1994)
- 17
- Annual births at peak, across 106 years of records
Barkley popularity over time - girls
5 total births recorded since 1993 (Barkley as girls' name)
Barkley by decade
1950s is the heaviest window (69 births, 22% of the file).
1950s was Barkley's strongest decade.
69 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 22% of all-time use.
Barkley births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1920s 25
1920s
25 births
- 1930s 18
1930s
18 births
- 1940s
1940s
38 births
- 1950s
1950s
69 births
- 1960s 27
1960s
27 births
- 1970s
1970s
30 births
- 1980s
1980s
41 births
- 1990s
1990s
38 births
- 2000s 13
2000s
13 births
- 2010s 7
2010s
7 births
- 2020s 12
2020s
12 births
What this shows Peak: 1950s at 69 births (22% of all-time use).
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Barkley? ▼
Where does Barkley sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Barkley most popular? ▼
How long has the name Barkley been used? ▼
What names are similar to Barkley? ▼
What to do with Barkley's data
- Barkley's decade-level peak was the 1950s (69 total births); usage has since declined to 12 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Barkley
Nearby Names Like Barkley
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Barkley
Compare Barkley side by side: Barkley vs Barry Barkley vs Barrett Barkley vs Bart
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Barkley
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Barkley: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1994)
Similar record span (~105 yrs)
Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.
Data Sources
Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1920–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Barkley draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.