How common is the surname Barry?

47,274 people in the United States had the surname Barry in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 6,531 Americans. It ranked 738th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Barry?

John Barry, British composer and conductor (1933–2011), followed by Rick Barry.

Where is the surname Barry most common?

Wikidata records people named Barry in the United States, the United Kingdom and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and 3 other countries.

How do you pronounce Barry?

Barry is /ˈbæɹi/, 2 syllables.

Is the surname Barry getting more or less common?

More common. 45,044 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 47,274 in 2010, up 5.0%.

Is Barry also a first name?

Yes. Barry 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 Barry

An Irish surname, carried by 47,274 people in the United States.

Pronounced /ˈbæɹi/ 2 syllables Soundex B600 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). Barry is more common than 99.5% of them.

Origin

Irish origin

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

One of 880 Irish surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 47,274 people named Barry in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 6,531 Americans. That is up 5.0% since 2000, when the Census counted 45,044.

#738

rank among US surnames

47,274

people in 2010

per 100,000 Americans

+5%

change since 2000 (was #691)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#729	O'Neal	47,979	6,435
#730	Mosley	47,963	6,437
#731	McClure	47,742	6,467
#732	Beasley	47,693	6,474
#733	Stephenson	47,641	6,481
#734	Snow	47,528	6,496
#735	Huerta	47,455	6,506

Who is named Barry

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

84% of people named Barry identified as white (not Hispanic), 11% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.5% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 84%
Black (not Hispanic) 11%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.5%
Two or more races 1.4%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.8%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.4%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Barrys

44 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

John Barry
British composer and conductor (1933–2011)
Rick Barry
American basketball player (born 1944)
James Barry
19th-century military surgeon in the British Army, 1789–1865
Dave Barry
American writer, born 1947
Maryanne Trump Barry
American judge (1937–2023)
Gene Barry
American stage, screen, and television actor (1919–2009)
Charles Barry
British architect (1795–1860)
Brent Barry
American basketball player (born 1971)
Raymond J. Barry
American film, television and stage actor, born 1939
Daniel T. Barry
American astronaut, born 1953
Marion Barry
American politician and former mayor of the District of Columbia (1936-2014)
Patricia Barry
American actress (1922-2016)

Notable Barrys come mostly from the United States (33), the United Kingdom (3) and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (3).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Barry

Barry has the Soundex code B600, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code B600.

Other Irish surnames

All 880 Irish surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Barry come from?: Anglicized form of Irish Bairre, short form of Fionnbharr, from fionn (“white”) + barr (“head”).
How common is the surname Barry?: 47,274 people in the United States had the surname Barry in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 6,531 Americans. It ranked 738th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Barry?: In the 2010 Census, 84% of people named Barry identified as white (not Hispanic), and 11% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Barry?: John Barry, British composer and conductor (1933–2011), followed by Rick Barry.
Where is the surname Barry most common?: Wikidata records people named Barry in the United States, the United Kingdom and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and 3 other countries.
How do you pronounce Barry?: Barry is /ˈbæɹi/, 2 syllables.
Is the surname Barry getting more or less common?: More common. 45,044 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 47,274 in 2010, up 5.0%.
Is Barry also a first name?: Yes. Barry 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.