# Barry (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/barry/  
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 | Irish |
| Meaning | “white”, “head” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈbæɹi/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | Bar, Baz, Bazza |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 182,036 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 181,270 / 766 (0% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 449, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

Anglicized form of Irish Bairre, short form of Fionnbharr, from fionn (“white”) + barr (“head”).

## What it means

Barry is grouped under white.

## 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 1977 | 10 | 5,925 |
| 1978 | 13 | 4,957 |
| 1979 | 12 | 5,453 |
| 1980 | 13 | 5,264 |
| 1981 | 5 | 10,569 |
| 1982 | 8 | 7,543 |
| 1983 | 12 | 5,488 |
| 1984 | 7 | 8,232 |
| 1985 | 9 | 7,015 |
| 1986 | 7 | 8,614 |
| 1987 | 11 | 6,379 |
| 1988 | 6 | 10,496 |
| 1989 | 5 | 12,586 |
| 1990 | 5 | 13,195 |
| 1992 | 5 | 13,513 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 119 | 1,396 |
| 2012 | 113 | 1,458 |
| 2013 | 103 | 1,540 |
| 2014 | 124 | 1,376 |
| 2015 | 142 | 1,267 |
| 2016 | 170 | 1,136 |
| 2017 | 136 | 1,323 |
| 2018 | 155 | 1,207 |
| 2019 | 144 | 1,287 |
| 2020 | 135 | 1,325 |
| 2021 | 121 | 1,479 |
| 2022 | 124 | 1,459 |
| 2023 | 104 | 1,650 |
| 2024 | 131 | 1,413 |
| 2025 | 114 | 1,520 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 12 | 1,801 |
| 2011 | 10 | 2,039 |
| 2012 | 7 | 2,721 |
| 2013 | 11 | 1,920 |
| 2014 | 10 | 2,079 |
| 2015 | 11 | 2,020 |
| 2016 | 11 | 2,027 |
| 2017 | 6 | 3,040 |
| 2018 | 9 | 2,259 |
| 2019 | 10 | 2,104 |
| 2020 | 8 | 2,404 |
| 2021 | 9 | 2,301 |
| 2022 | 4 | 4,001 |
| 2024 | 6 | 3,254 |
| 2025 | 5 | 3,684 |

## In other languages

- Chinese: 巴里
- Hebrew: בְּאֵרִי

## People named Barry

- Karl Barry Sharpless, American chemist and Nobel Laureate (born 1941)
- John Barry, British composer and conductor (1933–2011)
- Barry C. Barish, American physicist
- Barry Bostwick, American actor
- Barry Levinson, American screenwriter, film director, actor, and producer
- Barry White, American soul singer (1944–2003)
- Barry Goldwater, American politician and military officer (1909–1998)
- Barry Gibb, British musician
- Barry Pepper, Canadian actor
- Barry Bonds, American baseball player (born 1964)
- Barry Jenkins, American writer and director (born 1979)
- Barry E. Wilmore, American astronaut

## 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.