Barney

Primarily a boy's name · 99% boys

Meaning

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:

From Wikipedia

Barney first appears in the data in 1880 and has been recorded in 133 different years as a boy's name. Its single biggest year was 1919 with 304 babies (rank #319 that year). In 2024 it was given to 7 boys (rank #9,997). The name has been declining over the last five years.

Numerology of Barney

In Pythagorean numerology, every letter has a value from 1 to 9. Adding the letters of Barney yields these three numbers — a playful read on the name's character.

11Destiny numberThe visionary (master)Intuitive and inspirational — a heightened 2.Sum of every letter. The overall character a name carries.
4Soul urgeThe builderPractical, steady, gets results through hard work.Sum of the vowels — what's said to drive the heart.
7PersonalityThe seekerIntrospective, analytical, drawn to the unknown.Sum of the consonants — the outer impression.

16,176

Total babies (all years)

133

Years in the data

304

Peak in a single year

Popularity Over Time — Boys

Famous people named Barney

Barney Frankpolitician · b. 1940
Barney Stinsonb. 1976
Barney Gumbleaircraft pilot · b. 1956
Barney Kesseljazz musician · b. 1923

Share your Barney story

Why did you choose this name — or what does it mean to you? Approved stories appear on this page.

More popular boys' names

Names ranked near Barney in 2024

Other boys' names starting with B

Year-by-Year Detail

Rank is among all boys' names registered that year.

Year	Babies	Rank
1880	44	#249
1881	40	#245
1882	52	#228
1883	48	#225
1884	62	#210
1885	43	#252
1886	65	#205
1887	58	#202
1888	69	#212
1889	54	#222
1890	44	#256
1891	49	#229
1892	70	#208
1893	63	#215
1894	52	#239
1895	55	#238
1896	58	#237
1897	58	#223
1898	73	#204
1899	50	#234
1900	83	#216
1901	34	#303
1902	50	#261
1903	50	#259
1904	53	#260
1905	70	#234
1906	71	#232
1907	64	#263
1908	58	#285
1909	62	#285
1910	71	#291
1911	99	#261
1912	159	#284
1913	185	#291
1914	241	#288
1915	276	#306
1916	265	#324
1917	298	#308
1918	299	#331
1919	304	#319
1920	263	#369
1921	289	#352
1922	263	#370
1923	260	#367
1924	275	#359
1925	230	#396
1926	214	#409
1927	193	#438
1928	207	#416
1929	206	#406
1930	216	#389
1931	181	#418
1932	164	#440
1933	180	#401
1934	200	#386
1935	184	#402
1936	206	#383
1937	209	#383
1938	183	#420
1939	188	#417
1940	194	#415
1941	178	#435
1942	179	#465
1943	220	#418
1944	220	#405
1945	211	#413
1946	225	#423
1947	267	#418
1948	255	#419
1949	219	#450
1950	264	#415
1951	260	#420
1952	283	#409
1953	297	#402
1954	259	#449
1955	275	#448
1956	260	#468
1957	271	#470
1958	262	#482
1959	241	#507
1960	267	#486
1961	223	#530
1962	211	#548
1963	167	#607
1964	185	#582
1965	133	#646
1966	121	#672
1967	98	#743
1968	96	#757
1969	97	#782
1970	85	#875
1971	100	#803
1972	90	#846
1973	74	#936
1974	77	#925
1975	62	#1,053
1976	77	#946
1977	68	#1,047
1978	62	#1,110
1979	60	#1,169
1980	58	#1,204
1981	53	#1,259
1982	49	#1,344
1983	47	#1,361
1984	43	#1,460
1985	41	#1,570
1986	38	#1,665
1987	33	#1,899
1988	45	#1,593
1989	23	#2,699
1990	30	#2,319
1991	28	#2,476
1992	25	#2,750
1993	21	#3,152
1994	17	#3,762
1995	12	#4,820
1996	8	#6,556
1997	13	#4,687
1998	12	#5,179
1999	7	#7,948
2001	5	#10,739
2002	7	#8,540
2004	6	#10,087
2006	6	#10,811
2007	6	#11,074
2010	6	#10,909
2013	8	#8,888
2014	5	#12,301
2015	6	#10,822
2016	7	#9,787
2019	5	#12,371
2020	5	#12,239
2024	7	#9,997