Boy · #9,864 in 2026

Barney

Name: Popularity of the name Barney in U.S. births, 1880–2026
Creator: U.S. Social Security Administration
License: https://www.ssa.gov/foia/
Keywords: Barney, baby name, popularity, U.S., SSA, rankings

Barney is a masculine given name. It is often short for Barnard, Barnett, and other names. It is also derived from the Slavic name Barni, the pet form of Barnim, which means "defender", and it was formerly a popular name throughout Pomerania. Notable people with the name include:

Current Rank

#9,864

Peak Rank

#319 (1919)

Total Babies

16K

5-Yr Trend

Stable

1916

First Year

1963

Last Year

1923

Peak Year

#3641

Peak Rank

Total Count

Years Active

Meaning & Origin of Barney

What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →

The Story of Barney

Barney first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a baby boy name in 1880, with 44 babies given the name that year. Its peak popularity came in 1919, when 304 Barneys were born — ranking #319 that year. As of 2026, Barney ranks #9,864 for baby boys with 7 births, with steady use. In total, more than 16K Barneys have been born in the U.S. since records began in 1880, spanning the 1880s through the 2020s.

Popularity Over Time

Popularity by State

Top 10

11-50

51-100

101-500

500+

No data

Names that sound like Barney

Phonetically similar names — useful when Barney is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.

Barny
Barnie
Barmy
Barna
Berni
Barno
Byrnie
Borno
Borna
Barn
Bonnie
Bernie

Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.

Frequently Asked Questions about Barney

What does the name Barney mean?

How popular is Barney in 2026?

In 2026, Barney ranks #9,864 among boys' names in the U.S., with 7 babies given the name that year.

When was Barney most popular?

Barney reached its peak popularity in 1919, ranking #319 that year with 304 babies given the name.

In which U.S. states is Barney most popular?

Barney has historically been most popular in Oklahoma, Tennessee, Montana. Rankings vary year to year, but these states show the strongest concentration of births named Barney.

Is Barney a unisex name?

In U.S. Social Security records, Barney is primarily a boy's name. We don't have meaningful data for it as a girl's name.

What names go well with Barney?

Names that share a similar style or popularity range with Barney include Kane, Houston, Wilburn. These pairings are based on rank proximity and naming era in U.S. data.

About the name Barney

Barney is a boy baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1880 and has accumulated 16K births in the dataset. Barney's peak popularity came in 1919 when it ranked #319. Use the chart and map above to compare Barney's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.

Continue exploring

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.