How common is the surname Barney?

16,404 people in the United States had the surname Barney in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 18,821 Americans. It ranked 2,224th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Barney?

Natalie Clifford Barney, American writer who hosted a literary salon at her home in Paris (1876-1972), followed by Alice Pike Barney.

Where is the surname Barney most common?

Wikidata records people named Barney in the United States.

How do you pronounce Barney?

Barney is /ˈbɑɹni/, 2 syllables.

Is the surname Barney getting more or less common?

More common. 15,556 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 16,404 in 2010, up 5.5%.

Is Barney also a first name?

Yes. Barney is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.

The surname Barney

An English patronymic surname, carried by 16,404 people in the United States.

Pronounced /ˈbɑɹni/ 2 syllables Soundex B650 Also a first name

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Barney is more common than 98.6% of them.

Origin

English origin

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

Barney is a patronymic surname: formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.

One of 1,446 English surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 16,404 people named Barney in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 18,821 Americans. That is up 5.5% since 2000, when the Census counted 15,556.

#2,224

rank among US surnames

16,404

people in 2010

5.6

per 100,000 Americans

+5.5%

change since 2000 (was #2,144)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#2,215	Rincon	16,455	18,763
#2,216	Abernathy	16,450	18,769
#2,217	Altman	16,448	18,771
#2,218	Huston	16,435	18,786
#2,219	Foote	16,425	18,797
#2,220	Ennis	16,419	18,804
#2,221	Whiting	16,418	18,805

Who is named Barney

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

79% of people named Barney identified as white (not Hispanic), 13% as Black (not Hispanic) and 3.3% as American Indian and Alaska Native.

White (not Hispanic) 79%
Black (not Hispanic) 13%
American Indian and Alaska Native 3.3%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.9%
Two or more races 2.1%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.7%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Barneys

7 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Natalie Clifford Barney
American writer who hosted a literary salon at her home in Paris (1876-1972)
Alice Pike Barney
American painter (1857-1931)
Nora Stanton Blatch Barney
American civil engineer, architect and suffragist (1883–1971)
Matthew Barney
American sculptor and filmmaker (born 1967)
Ida Barney
American astronomer (1886–1982)
Darwin Barney
American baseball player, born 1985
Tina Barney
American photographer (born 1945)

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Barney

Barney has the Soundex code B650, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code B650.

Other English surnames

All 1,446 English surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Barney come from?: From either the Old English personal name Bera (genitive singular Beran) or from Old English beren (“growing with barley”) + īeġ (“island”).
How common is the surname Barney?: 16,404 people in the United States had the surname Barney in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 18,821 Americans. It ranked 2,224th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Barney?: In the 2010 Census, 79% of people named Barney identified as white (not Hispanic), and 13% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Barney?: Natalie Clifford Barney, American writer who hosted a literary salon at her home in Paris (1876-1972), followed by Alice Pike Barney.
Where is the surname Barney most common?: Wikidata records people named Barney in the United States.
How do you pronounce Barney?: Barney is /ˈbɑɹni/, 2 syllables.
What type of surname is Barney?: Barney is a patronymic surname, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.
Is the surname Barney getting more or less common?: More common. 15,556 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 16,404 in 2010, up 5.5%.
Is Barney also a first name?: Yes. Barney is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.