Barnaby
Barnaby is an Old English surname composed of the Saxon element beorn meaning young warrior, and the Danish suffix by meaning 'settlement'. As a given name, it means "son of consolation" and is etymologically linked with the New Testament name Barnabas.
- English
Meaning & Origin of Barnaby
What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.
Barnaby is an Old English surname composed of the Saxon element beorn meaning young warrior, and the Danish suffix by meaning 'settlement'. As a given name, it means "son of consolation" and is etymologically linked with the New Testament name Barnabas.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →
Cultural Origins (via Behind the Name)
- English
The Story of Barnaby
American parents first put Barnaby on the record books as a baby boy name in 1953, with 6 registered babies. Its peak popularity came in 1974, when 19 Barnabys were born — ranking #2,199 that year. About 33% of every Barnaby on record arrived during the 1970s, its defining decade. Barnaby last appeared in the published SSA data in 2024, with 7 recorded births — it has not charted nationally since. All told, over 375 Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 1950s to the 2020s.
Popularity Over Time
Popularity by State
Variants & Related Forms of Barnaby
Foreign forms, alternate spellings, and nicknames that share roots with Barnaby. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
Names that sound like Barnaby
Phonetically similar names — useful when Barnaby is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.
Frequently Asked Questions about Barnaby
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About the name Barnaby
Barnaby is a boy baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1953 and has accumulated 375 births in the dataset. Barnaby's peak popularity came in 1974 when it ranked #2,199. Use the chart and map above to compare Barnaby's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.
Continue exploring
- Top names of 1974 →
- Names of the 1970s →
- Names starting with "B" →
- Browse all boy names →
- Top names of 2026 →
Data sources
- Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
- Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
- Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
- Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
- Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .
Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.