Names › Boy › B › Barney
Boy name

Barney

/ˈbɑɹni/ · 99% boys · 5 born in 2025

Barney has been given to about 16,181 people in the United States since 1880. It was most common in 1919, which makes it a Edwardian name.

Meaning—
Origin—
Syllables2
Pronunciation/ˈbɑɹni/
Nicknames—
Living in the US≈ 7,374
Median age today71 years

Popularity, 1880–2025

Babies named Barney per year · SSA, ONS, NRS, CSO, INSEE and SSB
18802025
United StatesEngland & WalesScotlandeach scaled to its own peak
  • Peak year1919 · 304
  • Born in 20255
  • All time16,181
  • England & Wales, 2025#258 · 179

How popular is Barney?

Its best year was 1919, when 304 babies were given the name, ranking 319th. The typical living American called Barney is about 71 years old today.

Names that sound like Barney

Phonetic similarity, 0–1
  1. Harvey0.75
  2. Harley0.75
  3. Carey0.75
  4. Arley0.75
  5. Bailey0.70
  6. Bradley0.68
  7. Charley0.68
  8. Casey0.62

Middle names for Barney

Ranked by flow score
  1. Barney Paul0.77
  2. Barney John0.77
  3. Barney Wade0.76
  4. Barney Ross0.76
  5. Barney Quinn0.76
  6. Barney Jude0.76

Sibling names for Barney

Same era, comparable use, no clash
  1. Lenorasister · 0.93
  2. Ruthiesister · 0.91
  3. Louiebrother · 0.91
  4. Otisbrother · 0.90
  5. Hughbrother · 0.89
  6. Winonasister · 0.88

Where Barney is strongest

Share of 2025 births by state

    With a common surname

    Flow score against the most-used American surnames · try your own
    1. Barney Anderson0.77
    2. Barney White0.72
    3. Barney Nguyen0.72
    4. Barney Moore0.72
    5. Barney Hill0.72
    6. Barney Hall0.72

    How to read these numbers

    Every score on this page is explained
    1. Phonetic similarity0–1
    2. Middle-name flow0–1
    3. Sibling fit0–1
    4. Living population estimatemethod
    5. PronunciationCMU dictionary

    Sources for Barney

    Every figure on this page is public record
    1. United States1880–2025
    2. England & Wales1996–2025
    3. Scotland1974–2020
    4. PronunciationCMU dictionary

    Source: US Social Security Administration, national and state name files, 2025 release, and the Office for National Statistics for England and Wales. Etymology researched and written by our editors. Living-population and median-age figures are our own estimates, described in the methodology.