Barney
Barney was given to 5 boys in 2025, #12,270 among boys’ names; 16,181 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 5,580 Americans named Barney and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (35% of everyone recorded); the median is 68 years old and half are between 57 and 75.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Barney by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Barney mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Barney is “a male given name transferred from the surname.” Its etymology gives the senses “growing with barley” (beren) and “island” (īeġ).
Also “a diminutive of the male given names Barnabas, Barnaby, Bernard, and Barnett.”
From either the Old English personal name Bera (genitive singular Beran) or from Old English beren (“growing with barley”) + īeġ (“island”).
/ˈbɑɹni/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Barney?
#12,270 among boys’ names, 2025
Barney fell from #10,818 in 2015 to #12,270 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born fell from 3.1 to 2.9 per million.
304 babies in 1919, the peak
Barney peaked in 1919, when 304 boys were given it, #319 among boys’ names. The 5 births of 2025 are 2% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 5 | #12,270 | under 0.01 |
| 2024 | 7 | #10,026 | under 0.01 |
| 2020 | 5 | #12,241 | under 0.01 |
| 2019 | 5 | #12,369 | under 0.01 |
| 2016 | 7 | #9,783 | under 0.01 |
| 2015 | 6 | #10,818 | under 0.01 |
| 2014 | 5 | #12,297 | under 0.01 |
| 2013 | 8 | #8,883 | under 0.01 |
| 2010 | 6 | #10,903 | under 0.01 |
| 2007 | 6 | #11,068 | under 0.01 |
Every recorded year (134)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 6 | #10,807 | under 0.01 |
| 2004 | 6 | #10,081 | under 0.01 |
| 2002 | 7 | #8,535 | under 0.01 |
| 2001 | 5 | #10,731 | under 0.01 |
| 1999 | 7 | #7,941 | under 0.01 |
| 1998 | 12 | #5,175 | 0.01 |
| 1997 | 13 | #4,682 | 0.01 |
| 1996 | 8 | #6,549 | under 0.01 |
| 1995 | 12 | #4,814 | 0.01 |
| 1994 | 17 | #3,757 | 0.01 |
| 1993 | 21 | #3,146 | 0.01 |
| 1992 | 25 | #2,744 | 0.01 |
| 1991 | 28 | #2,469 | 0.01 |
| 1990 | 30 | #2,314 | 0.01 |
| 1989 | 23 | #2,692 | 0.01 |
| 1988 | 45 | #1,588 | 0.02 |
| 1987 | 33 | #1,895 | 0.02 |
| 1986 | 38 | #1,663 | 0.02 |
| 1985 | 41 | #1,569 | 0.02 |
| 1984 | 43 | #1,459 | 0.02 |
| 1983 | 47 | #1,360 | 0.03 |
| 1982 | 49 | #1,343 | 0.03 |
| 1981 | 53 | #1,259 | 0.03 |
| 1980 | 58 | #1,205 | 0.03 |
| 1979 | 60 | #1,169 | 0.03 |
| 1978 | 62 | #1,110 | 0.04 |
| 1977 | 68 | #1,047 | 0.04 |
| 1976 | 77 | #946 | 0.05 |
| 1975 | 62 | #1,053 | 0.04 |
| 1974 | 77 | #924 | 0.05 |
| 1973 | 74 | #936 | 0.05 |
| 1972 | 90 | #846 | 0.06 |
| 1971 | 100 | #803 | 0.06 |
| 1970 | 85 | #875 | 0.05 |
| 1969 | 97 | #782 | 0.05 |
| 1968 | 96 | #757 | 0.06 |
| 1967 | 98 | #743 | 0.06 |
| 1966 | 121 | #672 | 0.07 |
| 1965 | 133 | #646 | 0.07 |
| 1964 | 185 | #582 | 0.09 |
| 1963 | 167 | #607 | 0.08 |
| 1962 | 211 | #548 | 0.10 |
| 1961 | 223 | #530 | 0.10 |
| 1960 | 267 | #485 | 0.13 |
| 1959 | 241 | #507 | 0.11 |
| 1958 | 262 | #481 | 0.12 |
| 1957 | 271 | #469 | 0.13 |
| 1956 | 260 | #467 | 0.12 |
| 1955 | 275 | #447 | 0.13 |
| 1954 | 259 | #448 | 0.13 |
| 1953 | 297 | #401 | 0.15 |
| 1952 | 283 | #408 | 0.15 |
| 1951 | 260 | #419 | 0.14 |
| 1950 | 264 | #414 | 0.15 |
| 1949 | 219 | #449 | 0.12 |
| 1948 | 255 | #419 | 0.15 |
| 1947 | 267 | #418 | 0.15 |
| 1946 | 225 | #423 | 0.14 |
| 1945 | 211 | #413 | 0.16 |
| 1944 | 220 | #405 | 0.16 |
| 1943 | 220 | #418 | 0.15 |
| 1942 | 179 | #465 | 0.13 |
| 1941 | 178 | #435 | 0.14 |
| 1940 | 194 | #415 | 0.17 |
| 1939 | 188 | #417 | 0.17 |
| 1938 | 183 | #420 | 0.16 |
| 1937 | 209 | #383 | 0.20 |
| 1936 | 206 | #383 | 0.20 |
| 1935 | 184 | #402 | 0.18 |
| 1934 | 200 | #386 | 0.19 |
| 1933 | 180 | #401 | 0.18 |
| 1932 | 164 | #440 | 0.16 |
| 1931 | 181 | #418 | 0.17 |
| 1930 | 216 | #389 | 0.20 |
| 1929 | 205 | #406 | 0.19 |
| 1928 | 208 | #415 | 0.19 |
| 1927 | 193 | #438 | 0.17 |
| 1926 | 214 | #409 | 0.19 |
| 1925 | 230 | #396 | 0.21 |
| 1924 | 275 | #359 | 0.24 |
| 1923 | 260 | #367 | 0.24 |
| 1922 | 263 | #370 | 0.24 |
| 1921 | 289 | #352 | 0.26 |
| 1920 | 263 | #369 | 0.25 |
| 1919 | 304 | #319 | 0.31 |
| 1918 | 299 | #331 | 0.30 |
| 1917 | 298 | #308 | 0.32 |
| 1916 | 265 | #324 | 0.30 |
| 1915 | 276 | #306 | 0.33 |
| 1914 | 241 | #288 | 0.37 |
| 1913 | 185 | #291 | 0.36 |
| 1912 | 159 | #284 | 0.37 |
| 1911 | 99 | #261 | 0.44 |
| 1910 | 71 | #291 | 0.37 |
| 1909 | 62 | #285 | 0.38 |
| 1908 | 58 | #285 | 0.38 |
| 1907 | 64 | #263 | 0.44 |
| 1906 | 71 | #232 | 0.53 |
| 1905 | 70 | #234 | 0.53 |
| 1904 | 53 | #260 | 0.41 |
| 1903 | 50 | #259 | 0.42 |
| 1902 | 50 | #261 | 0.41 |
| 1901 | 34 | #303 | 0.32 |
| 1900 | 83 | #216 | 0.55 |
| 1899 | 50 | #234 | 0.47 |
| 1898 | 73 | #204 | 0.60 |
| 1897 | 58 | #223 | 0.51 |
| 1896 | 58 | #237 | 0.49 |
| 1895 | 55 | #238 | 0.47 |
| 1894 | 52 | #239 | 0.45 |
| 1893 | 63 | #215 | 0.56 |
| 1892 | 70 | #208 | 0.57 |
| 1891 | 49 | #229 | 0.48 |
| 1890 | 44 | #256 | 0.40 |
| 1889 | 54 | #222 | 0.49 |
| 1888 | 69 | #212 | 0.57 |
| 1887 | 58 | #202 | 0.57 |
| 1886 | 65 | #205 | 0.59 |
| 1885 | 43 | #252 | 0.40 |
| 1884 | 62 | #210 | 0.54 |
| 1883 | 48 | #225 | 0.46 |
| 1882 | 52 | #228 | 0.46 |
| 1881 | 40 | #245 | 0.40 |
| 1880 | 44 | #249 | 0.40 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Barney a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Barney has been given almost only to boys: 91 girls in 134 years of records.
Girls and boys named Barney: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Barney, and how old are they?
5,580 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 35% of the 16,181 Americans ever recorded as Barney. The median Barney alive today is 68 years old; half are between 57 and 75.
The 2020 Census counted 5,991 people named Barney (77 women and girls, 5,914 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 6,656 born in the U.S. The Census count is 10% below that prediction. Possible reasons: people who give a short form or another name to the Census, and a survival estimate that can run high.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 698 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 3,090 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 1,190 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 485 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 67 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 48 |
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 Barney born?
The states with the most babies named Barney are Texas, New York and California, with 30% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 1,489 | not ranked | 1.8× |
| New York | 914 | not ranked | 0.7× |
| California | 909 | not ranked | 1.0× |
| Georgia | 851 | not ranked | 2.0× |
| Alabama | 636 | not ranked | 1.8× |
| North Carolina | 557 | not ranked | 1.2× |
| Tennessee | 512 | not ranked | 1.5× |
| South Carolina | 499 | not ranked | 1.8× |
| Florida | 492 | not ranked | 1.8× |
| Mississippi | 468 | not ranked | 1.8× |
Where Barney is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Barney is most over-represented in Georgia: since 1910 it was given 2.0 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 boys’ 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 Barney 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 2 names spelled alike, given to 16,827 babies since 1880, Barney is the most given (96% of them).
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 Barney
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 Barney and names like it
- Compare Barney and BarnieBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1910sBarney peaked in 1919.
- Texas’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Barney since 1910.
- From surnamesWiktionary’s origin for Barney: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1919The year the most babies were named Barney.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Barney alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with BMost given first.