How Many People Are Named Barney?
An estimated 6,428 people in the United States have the first name Barney. It is predominantly male (99.4%). The average bearer is 68 years old, and Barney peaked in popularity in 1919 with 304 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Barney as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Barney paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Barney is overwhelmingly male, 91 female births have been registered with this name since 1880.
- With an average bearer age of 68, Barney is a vintage name most associated with earlier generations. Most living bearers were born before 1968.
Estimated Living Americans
6,428
About 1 in 53,322 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Rare
Predicted Gender
Male
99.4% confidence
Average Age
68
years old
Peak Year
1919
304 births
Total Registered
16,176
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Barney
Barney is almost exclusively a male name. Out of 16,176 total births registered, 99.4% were male.
Barney as a male name
Ranked #9,997 in 2024
7 male births in 2024
Peak: 1919 (304 births)
Barney as a female name
Ranked #6,666 in 1963
5 female births in 1963
Peak: 1923 (8 births)
Barney: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Barney span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1950s, when 2,684 babies were registered. Barney has declined significantly from its peak in the 1950s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Barney by Decade
How has Barney tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
Barney by State
Birth registrations for Barney span all 37 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in Texas, New York, California. The lowest are in Nebraska, Montana, West Virginia. On average, about 294 Barneys were registered per state.
Barney + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Barney as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Barney
Other first names starting with B with a similar number of bearers.
Barney: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Barney?
We estimate approximately 6,428 people named Barney are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 53,322 Americans share this first name.
Is Barney a common name?
Barney is classified as "Rare" and is more popular than 97% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 16,176 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Barney most popular?
Barney reached peak popularity in 1919, when 304 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Barney is approximately 68 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Barney a male name?
Barney is predominantly male. 99.4% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Barney Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Barney Smith, Barney Johnson, Barney Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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