# Barney (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/barney/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys |
| Origin | English |
| Meaning | “growing with barley”, “island” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈbɑɹni/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 16,181 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 16,090 / 91 (1% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 2,551, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

From either the Old English personal name Bera (genitive singular Beran) or from Old English beren (“growing with barley”) + īeġ (“island”).

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1916 | 7 | 3,588 |
| 1920 | 5 | 5,057 |
| 1921 | 7 | 4,065 |
| 1923 | 8 | 3,676 |
| 1925 | 8 | 3,696 |
| 1926 | 5 | 4,924 |
| 1927 | 7 | 3,903 |
| 1939 | 5 | 4,307 |
| 1944 | 5 | 4,620 |
| 1945 | 6 | 4,061 |
| 1947 | 6 | 4,791 |
| 1954 | 6 | 5,192 |
| 1957 | 6 | 5,419 |
| 1960 | 5 | 6,442 |
| 1963 | 5 | 6,667 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 7 | 7,948 |
| 2001 | 5 | 10,739 |
| 2002 | 7 | 8,542 |
| 2004 | 6 | 10,087 |
| 2006 | 6 | 10,814 |
| 2007 | 6 | 11,074 |
| 2010 | 6 | 10,910 |
| 2013 | 8 | 8,888 |
| 2014 | 5 | 12,303 |
| 2015 | 6 | 10,824 |
| 2016 | 7 | 9,788 |
| 2019 | 5 | 12,375 |
| 2020 | 5 | 12,247 |
| 2024 | 7 | 10,031 |
| 2025 | 5 | 12,274 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 62 | 565 |
| 2012 | 108 | 386 |
| 2013 | 106 | 382 |
| 2014 | 94 | 429 |
| 2015 | 97 | 423 |
| 2016 | 92 | 446 |
| 2017 | 87 | 469 |
| 2018 | 80 | 492 |
| 2019 | 131 | 340 |
| 2020 | 160 | 287 |
| 2021 | 195 | 246 |
| 2022 | 162 | 277 |
| 2023 | 156 | 287 |
| 2024 | 149 | 298 |
| 2025 | 179 | 257 |

## People named Barney

- Barney Frank, American politician (1940–2026)
- Barney Kessel, American jazz guitarist (1923–2004)
- Barney Ewell, athletics competitor (1918-1996)
- Barney Martin, American actor (1923–2005)
- Barney Bigard, American jazz clarinetist, jazz musician (1906-1980)
- Barney Oldfield, American racing driver (1878-1946)
- Barney Phillips, American actor (1913-1982)
- Barney Williams, Canadian rower
- Barney Clark, British actor
- J. Barney Sherry, American actor (1874-1944)
- Barney Barnato, British businessman (1851–1897)
- Barney Wilen, French saxophonist (1937-1996)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.