Barnabas

maleStatistical record

What official birth registration shows about Barnabas: which national registrars published it, in which years, and how its recorded position changed.

No researched meaning, origin or pronunciation yet — what that means.

Barnabas: Recorded every year since 1996, it reached #720 in 2010, and it stood at #2,443 in 2024.

2registrars recorded it
30times a registrar ranked it
29years from first to last
#720highest recorded position
7groupings it qualifies for

Region

Falling

among boys in England and Wales · 1996–2024

View as table

England and Wales · Boys rank by year
Year	Rank
1996	#1235
1997	#1113
1998	#1000
1999	#1130
2000	#1167
2001	#1078
2002	#1411
2003	#2857
2004	#1596
2005	#1456
2006	#1892
2007	#1361
2008	#1343
2009	#1302
2010	#1551
2011	#1688
2012	#1270
2013	#1147
2014	#1281
2015	#1236
2016	#1498
2017	#1470
2018	#1610
2019	#1001
2020	#1273
2021	#1448
2022	#1366
2023	#1799
2024	#2443

VerifiedSource: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales.Confidence: high.

See all England and Wales names · Source: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales

What the data shows

FallingEngland and Wales · Boys

Recorded in official data among boys in England and Wales in every year from 1996 to 2024.

In 2010: #720 among boys in Republic of Ireland, #1551 among boys in England and Wales.

Official data from 2 national registrars across 2 regions, 1996–2024 · Office for National Statistics. Data sources

Popularity journey

First recorded1996
First recorded at #1235 among boys in England and Wales in 1996 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
England and Wales · Boys
Most recent2024
Most recently recorded at #2443 among boys in England and Wales, in 2024.
England and Wales · Boys

Barnabas by decade in England and Wales · Boys

Births registered with the name in each decade of this one list, with the number of years the list covers in that decade. Bars are scaled on births a year, which is the figure that compares between decades — a decade the list only partly covers has a smaller total without being a quieter decade. Figures belong to this registrar alone and do not carry to another.

Births registered with Barnabas in England and Wales · Boys, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
1990s	48	4 of 10	12
2000s	123	10 of 10	12
2010sbusiest	188	10 of 10	19
2020s	78	5 of 10	16

Across England and Wales · Boys, the 2010s were its busiest decade, averaging 19 births a year.

See the names England and Waleshas recorded the most births with →

Barnabas appears in

Groupings this name qualifies for under their own stated rules, from the same official statistics shown above.

Popularity data

Official popularity data is available for 2 regions, from 1996 to 2024. Highest recorded position: #720 in Republic of Ireland in 2010.

Barnabas's recorded popularity observations by year, region and administrative category, including rank, registered births, source confidence and when each region's data was last reviewed.
Year	Region	Category	Rank	Births registered	Confidence	Status
2024	England and Wales	male	#2443	9	High	Verified
2023	England and Wales	male	#1799	13	High	Verified
2022	England and Wales	male	#1366	19	High	Verified
2021	England and Wales	male	#1448	17	High	Verified
2020	England and Wales	male	#1273	20	High	Verified
2019	England and Wales	male	#1001	28	High	Verified
2018	England and Wales	male	#1610	15	High	Verified
2017	England and Wales	male	#1470	17	High	Verified
2016	England and Wales	male	#1498	17	High	Verified
2015	England and Wales	male	#1236	21	High	Verified
2014	England and Wales	male	#1281	20	High	Verified
2013	England and Wales	male	#1147	22	High	Verified
2012	England and Wales	male	#1270	20	High	Verified
2011	England and Wales	male	#1688	13	High	Verified
2010	England and Wales	male	#1551	15	High	Verified
2009	England and Wales	male	#1302	18	High	Verified
2008	England and Wales	male	#1343	17	High	Verified
2007	England and Wales	male	#1361	16	High	Verified
2006	England and Wales	male	#1892	9	High	Verified
2005	England and Wales	male	#1456	13	High	Verified
2004	England and Wales	male	#1596	10	High	Verified
2003	England and Wales	male	#2857	4	High	Verified
2002	England and Wales	male	#1411	10	High	Verified
2001	England and Wales	male	#1078	14	High	Verified
2000	England and Wales	male	#1167	12	High	Verified
1999	England and Wales	male	#1130	12	High	Verified
1998	England and Wales	male	#1000	14	High	Verified
1997	England and Wales	male	#1113	12	High	Verified
1996	England and Wales	male	#1235	10	High	Verified
2010	Republic of Ireland	male	#720	3	High	Verified

England and Wales hub — collected by Office for National Statistics
Republic of Ireland hub — collected by CSO Ireland

See methodology and data sources for how popularity data is collected and what "confidence" means.

What the record shows

Recorded by 2 registrars between 1996 and 2024, ranked in 29 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #720, first reached in 2010.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 28 births, registered in England and Wales in 2019.

A second registrar first ranked it in 2010, and 14 years separate the first registrar to record it from the last.

Every figure here is counted from the seven official registrars Namewise holds. A position is only ever a place within the list that published it, and a record that thins or stops is a fact about what registrars printed — never about how many children received the name.

Where to go next

Records with a comparable body of evidence, so the catalogue can be read outward from this one. Each group states the rule it was selected by.

Next in the catalogue

The records either side of this one alphabetically.

Barin · #2449, 15y
Barirah · #3318, 11y
Barnaby · #195, 29y
Barney · #246, 29y

A comparable record

Records held by the same 2 registrars, over a similar number of ranked years, whose highest position is closest to this one. A similar body of evidence — never a claim that the names themselves are alike.

Floyd · #720, 29y
Leandro · #720, 29y
Mirza · #720, 29y
Tommylee · #720, 27y

Also first recorded in the 1990s

Records whose earliest ranking in Namewise's registrar data also falls between 1990 and 1999.

Deion · #720, 11y
Floyd · #720, 29y
Leandro · #720, 29y
Mirza · #720, 29y

Barnabas was ranked #720 in Republic of Ireland · Boys in 2010. These are the names immediately either side of it on that published list — a fact about the registrar's own output, not a similarity judgement.

Barnabas and the names beside it

Two names in the same published list are measured on the same scale, in the same year, by the same registrar — so these are positions that genuinely passed each other, not a similarity judgement. Drawn from the 2,573 names with a recorded popularity standing (common, familiar, uncommon), so a name outside that set could have passed Barnabas without appearing here.

Barnabas moved ahead of

Graham Compare
In 2023 they stood at #1799 and #1533 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2024 that had become #2443 and #5119.
Graeme Compare
In 2003 they stood at #2857 and #2189 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2004 that had become #1596 and #3009.
Ashleigh Compare
In 2004 they stood at #2857 and #1962 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2005 that had become #1456 and #2754.
Kim Compare
In 2006 they stood at #1892 and #1892 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2007 that had become #1361 and #2435.

Moved ahead of Barnabas

Hudson Compare
In 2002 they stood at #1411 and #2005 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2003 that had become #2857 and #1092.
Ronny Compare
In 2002 they stood at #1078 and #1467 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2003 that had become #2857 and #1962.
Kasper Compare
In 2005 they stood at #1456 and #1617 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2006 that had become #1892 and #1168.
Harper Compare
In 2022 they stood at #1366 and #1609 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2023 that had become #1799 and #1207.

Moved the opposite way to Barnabas

Albie Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Boys, Barnabas went from #1235 to #2443 while Albie went from #853 to #19.
Alfie Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Boys, Barnabas went from #1235 to #2443 while Alfie went from #119 to #16.
Alfred Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Boys, Barnabas went from #1235 to #2443 while Alfred went from #218 to #81.
Archie Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Boys, Barnabas went from #1235 to #2443 while Archie went from #192 to #10.

Moved the same way as Barnabas

Aaron Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Boys, Barnabas went from #1235 to #2443 and Aaron from #33 to #154.
Adam Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Boys, Barnabas went from #1235 to #2443 and Adam from #16 to #35.
Alan Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Boys, Barnabas went from #1235 to #2443 and Alan from #163 to #592.
Alex Compare
Between 1996 and 2024 in England and Wales · Boys, Barnabas went from #1235 to #2443 and Alex from #43 to #171.

What's not yet available

Meaning
Origin
Pronunciation
Nicknames and spelling variants

Absence from this list does not mean the name isn't genuinely meaningful or widely used — only that Namewise hasn't sourced and reviewed that content yet. Absence from a specific year or geography above does not prove zero use there either; official statistics only publish names above a minimum threshold.

Official popularity data is available for 2 regions, from 1996 to 2024. Highest recorded position: #720 in Republic of Ireland in 2010. Source data last verified 2026-07-21.

Barnabas

Barnabas at a glance

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Barnabas by decade in England and Wales · Boys

Barnabas appears in

Popularity data

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1990s

Names published alongside Barnabas

Barnabas and the names beside it

Barnabas moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Barnabas

Moved the opposite way to Barnabas

Moved the same way as Barnabas

Barnabas at a glance

Barnabas by decade in England and Wales · Boys

Barnabas appears in

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1990s

Names published alongside Barnabas

Barnabas and the names beside it

Barnabas moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Barnabas

Moved the opposite way to Barnabas

Moved the same way as Barnabas