Barry vs Mervyn

Barry and Mervyncompared on official birth-registration statistics and Namewise's recorded data. This page states what each name's record shows — it never picks a winner or scores one name against the other.

Head to head

Ranks are only compared within one published list and one year. Two ranks from different years, from a boys' and a girls' list, or from different registrars are not comparable, so they are not placed side by side.

New Zealand · Boys
In 1957, Barry was ranked #24 and Mervyn #95 among boys in New Zealand.
Republic of Ireland · Boys
In 1989, Barry was ranked #37 and Mervyn #278 among boys in Republic of Ireland.
England and Wales · Boys
In 2017, Barry was ranked #3040 and Mervyn #3996 among boys in England and Wales.

Barry and Mervyn over time

Barry and Mervyn appear together in 2 published lists, across 34 years of shared records. Barry held the stronger position in more years in 2 of them, Mervyn in 0.

In none of those lists did their order change and stay changed.

Each reached its own highest recorded position first in 1 of the lists they share.

Counted list by list. Two names in the same published list are measured on the same scale in the same year, so those comparisons are real — but positions from different lists are not, so nothing here is combined into an overall standing.

List by list

Republic of Ireland · Boys23 shared years, 1964–1989
Barry held the stronger position in 23 of those years, Mervyn in 0.
Highest recorded here: Barry #17 in 1985, Mervyn #136 in 1964.
The order between them never changed and held in this list.
Most recent shared year, 1989: Barry #37, Mervyn #278.
England and Wales · Boys11 shared years, 1998–2017
Barry held the stronger position in 11 of those years, Mervyn in 0.
Highest recorded here: Barry #544 in 1998, Mervyn #1962 in 2003.
The order between them never changed and held in this list.
Most recent shared year, 2017: Barry #3040, Mervyn #3996.

Two names moving past each other in a ranking is a fact about the ranking. Namewise does not claim one name displaced the other, that families chose between them, or that either influenced the other — none of that is in this data.

Where to go next

Comparisons that share a name, a rule or a published list with this one. Each is an existing comparison page with its own evidence — nothing here says these pairs are alike.

Other comparisons involving Barry

Pairs where Barry shares a published list with another name, each measured inside one registrar's own list.

Gregory vs Barry
In 1964 they stood at #78 and #69 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, 9 places apart; by 2025 they were #829 and #402.
Gregory · Barry · 60 shared years, 1964–2025 · Started together, ended far apart
See the 2025 Republic of Ireland ranking
Oliver vs Barry
In 1997 they stood at #100 and #90 in Northern Ireland · Boys, 10 places apart; by 2022 they were #6 and #414.
Oliver · Barry · 21 shared years, 1997–2022 · Started together, ended far apart
See the 2022 Northern Ireland ranking
Oisin vs Barry
In 1997 they stood at #81 and #90 in Northern Ireland · Boys, 9 places apart; by 2022 they were #7 and #414.
Oisin · Barry · 21 shared years, 1997–2022 · Started together, ended far apart
See the 2022 Northern Ireland ranking
Harry vs Barry
In 1997 they stood at #87 and #90 in Northern Ireland · Boys, 3 places apart; by 2022 they were #8 and #414.
Harry · Barry · 21 shared years, 1997–2022 · Started together, ended far apart
See the 2022 Northern Ireland ranking

Side by side

Side-by-side comparison of Barry, Mervyn
Field	Barry	Mervyn
Record type	Official statistical record (evidence-only)	Official statistical record (evidence-only)
Gender usage	male	male
Meaning	Not yet recorded	Not yet recorded
Origin	Not yet recorded	Not yet recorded
Pronunciation		Not yet recorded
Syllables	2	2
Common variants / nicknames	Not yet recorded	Not yet recorded
Recorded regional usage	AU-NSW, GB-ENW, GB-NIR, IE, NZ	GB-ENW, IE, NZ
Most recent popularity observation	Republic of Ireland · Boys #402 (2025)	England and Wales · Boys #3996 (2017)
Pronunciation clarity (demonstration score)	Not yet recorded	Not yet recorded
Spelling simplicity (demonstration score)	94/100	88/100
International familiarity (demonstration score)	100/100	100/100
Data Confidence	medium	medium

What the data shows

Barry and Mervyn both have 2 syllables.
Both names have recorded usage in GB-ENW, IE, NZ.

How each name got here

Barry

Popularity journey

First recorded1952
First recorded at #30 among boys in New South Wales, Australia in 1952 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
New South Wales, Australia · Boys
Highest recorded1964–2025
Highest recorded position: #17 among boys in Republic of Ireland, in 1985 (recorded 1964–2025).
Republic of Ireland · Boys
Most recent2025
Most recently recorded at #402 among boys in Republic of Ireland, in 2025.
Republic of Ireland · Boys

Mervyn

Popularity journey

First recorded1954
First recorded at #85 among boys in New Zealand in 1954 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
New Zealand · Boys
Highest recorded1954–1957
Highest recorded position: #85 among boys in New Zealand, in 1954 (recorded 1954–1957).
New Zealand · Boys
Most recent2017
Most recently recorded at #3996 among boys in England and Wales, in 2017.
England and Wales · Boys