Barney

maleStatistical record

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

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

Barney: Recorded every year since 1996, it reached #246 in 2021, and it stood at #298 in 2024.

4registrars recorded it
45times a registrar ranked it
29years from first to last
#246highest recorded position
9groupings it qualifies for

Region

Rising

among boys in England and Wales · 1996–2024

View as table

England and Wales · Boys rank by year
Year	Rank
1996	#489
1997	#522
1998	#887
1999	#679
2000	#651
2001	#638
2002	#449
2003	#514
2004	#477
2005	#461
2006	#494
2007	#584
2008	#484
2009	#535
2010	#536
2011	#565
2012	#386
2013	#382
2014	#429
2015	#423
2016	#446
2017	#469
2018	#492
2019	#340
2020	#287
2021	#246
2022	#277
2023	#287
2024	#298

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

RisingEngland and Wales · Boys

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

In 2024: #298 among boys in England and Wales, #535 among boys in Scotland, #655 among boys in Republic of Ireland.

Official data from 4 national registrars across 4 regions, 1996–2024 · Office for National Statistics. Data sources

Popularity journey

First recorded1996
First recorded at #489 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
Highest recorded1996–2024
Highest recorded position: #246 among boys in England and Wales, in 2021 (recorded 1996–2024).
England and Wales · Boys
Most recent2024
Most recently recorded at #298 among boys in England and Wales, in 2024.
England and Wales · Boys

Barney appears in 3 of the published lists Namewise holds. The longest record is England and Wales · Boys, which has ranked it in 29 years beginning in 1996, and has registered 2,372 births with the name.

Barney across 3 official records

Each registrar publishes its own list, so these figures are read down a row, never across one. A position in one country is not comparable with a position in another, and Namewise never combines them into a single ranking. The birth counts do not compare across rows either, for a different reason: England and Wales registers roughly thirty times as many births a year as Northern Ireland, so a larger total says which registrar recorded it as much as how widely the name was given.

Barney's first, highest and most recent recorded position in each official list, with the number of births each registrar registered with the name and its largest single year
Published list	First recorded	Highest	Most recent	Years recorded	Births registered	Most in one year
England and Wales · Boys	#489 (1996)	#246 (2021)	#298 (2024)	29 of 29	2,372 (1996–2024)	195 (2021)
Republic of Ireland · Boys	#596 (2006)	#572 (2022)	#655 (2024)	7 of 19	27 (2006–2024)	5 (2022)
Northern Ireland · Boys	#403 (2012)	#374 (2021)	#395 (2023)	8 of 12	25 (2012–2023)	4 (2021)

Barney 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 Barney in England and Wales · Boys, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
1990s	114	4 of 10	29
2000s	515	10 of 10	52
2010s	921	10 of 10	92
2020sbusiest	822	5 of 10	164

Across England and Wales · Boys, the 2020s were its busiest decade — the 5 years of it this list covers, averaging 164 births a year.

Its sharpest single-year move came between 2018 and 2019, when recorded births rose by 51, from 80 to 131.

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

Barney 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 4 regions, from 1996 to 2024. Highest recorded position: #246 in England and Wales in 2021.

Barney'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	#298	149	High	Verified
2023	England and Wales	male	#287	156	High	Verified
2022	England and Wales	male	#277	162	High	Verified
2021	England and Wales	male	#246	195	High	Verified
2020	England and Wales	male	#287	160	High	Verified
2019	England and Wales	male	#340	131	High	Verified
2018	England and Wales	male	#492	80	High	Verified
2017	England and Wales	male	#469	87	High	Verified
2016	England and Wales	male	#446	92	High	Verified
2015	England and Wales	male	#423	97	High	Verified
2014	England and Wales	male	#429	94	High	Verified
2013	England and Wales	male	#382	106	High	Verified
2012	England and Wales	male	#386	108	High	Verified
2011	England and Wales	male	#565	62	High	Verified
2010	England and Wales	male	#536	64	High	Verified
2009	England and Wales	male	#535	63	High	Verified
2008	England and Wales	male	#484	72	High	Verified
2007	England and Wales	male	#584	51	High	Verified
2006	England and Wales	male	#494	61	High	Verified
2005	England and Wales	male	#461	61	High	Verified
2004	England and Wales	male	#477	55	High	Verified
2003	England and Wales	male	#514	46	High	Verified
2002	England and Wales	male	#449	49	High	Verified
2001	England and Wales	male	#638	29	High	Verified
2000	England and Wales	male	#651	28	High	Verified
1999	England and Wales	male	#679	25	High	Verified
1998	England and Wales	male	#887	17	High	Verified
1997	England and Wales	male	#522	35	High	Verified
1996	England and Wales	male	#489	37	High	Verified
2023	Northern Ireland	male	#395	3	High	Verified
2022	Northern Ireland	male	#414	3	High	Verified
2021	Northern Ireland	male	#374	4	High	Verified
2020	Northern Ireland	male	#392	3	High	Verified
2019	Northern Ireland	male	#418	3	High	Verified
2015	Northern Ireland	male	#415	3	High	Verified
2014	Northern Ireland	male	#398	3	High	Verified
2012	Northern Ireland	male	#403	3	High	Verified
2024	Republic of Ireland	male	#655	4	High	Verified
2022	Republic of Ireland	male	#572	5	High	Verified
2020	Republic of Ireland	male	#741	3	High	Verified
2019	Republic of Ireland	male	#646	4	High	Verified
2017	Republic of Ireland	male	#610	4	High	Verified
2016	Republic of Ireland	male	#601	4	High	Verified
2006	Republic of Ireland	male	#596	3	High	Verified
2024	Scotland	male	#535	5	High	Verified

England and Wales hub — collected by Office for National Statistics
Northern Ireland hub — collected by NISRA
Republic of Ireland hub — collected by CSO Ireland
Scotland hub — collected by National Records of Scotland

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

What the record shows

Recorded by 4 registrars between 1996 and 2024, ranked in 29 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #246, first reached in 2021.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 195 births, registered in England and Wales in 2021.

A second registrar first ranked it in 2006, and 28 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.

Barnabas · #720, 29y
Barnaby · #195, 29y
Barnie · #2301, 10y
Baron · #2254, 16y

A comparable record

Records held by the same 4 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.

Kasey · #247, 31y
Kodi · #248, 30y
Orin · #244, 29y
Rae · #244, 30y

Also first recorded in the 1990s

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

Caoilinn · #246, 30y
Hector · #246, 29y
Jac · #246, 29y
Mack · #246, 29y

Barney was ranked #246 in England and Wales · Boys in 2021. 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.

Barney 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 Barney without appearing here.

Barney moved ahead of

Jakob Compare
In 2018 they stood at #492 and #486 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2019 that had become #340 and #674.
Keith Compare
In 2001 they stood at #638 and #576 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2002 that had become #449 and #781.
Jon Compare
In 2007 they stood at #584 and #492 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2008 that had become #484 and #789.
Courtney Compare
In 1998 they stood at #887 and #554 in England and Wales · Boys; by 1999 that had become #679 and #973.

Moved ahead of Barney

Roman Compare
In 1999 they stood at #679 and #809 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2000 that had become #651 and #401.
Teddy Compare
In 1997 they stood at #522 and #578 in England and Wales · Boys; by 1998 that had become #887 and #657.
Arlo Compare
In 2008 they stood at #484 and #567 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2009 that had become #535 and #311.
Harris Compare
In 2019 they stood at #646 and #764 in Republic of Ireland · Boys; by 2020 that had become #741 and #556.

Moved the opposite way to Barney

Garry Compare
Between 1996 and 2023 in England and Wales · Boys, Barney went from #489 to #287 while Garry went from #573 to #4991.
Graeme Compare
Between 1996 and 2023 in England and Wales · Boys, Barney went from #489 to #287 while Graeme went from #755 to #4107.
Nicola Compare
Between 1996 and 2023 in England and Wales · Boys, Barney went from #489 to #287 while Nicola went from #2863 to #4107.
Brent Compare
Between 1996 and 2022 in England and Wales · Boys, Barney went from #489 to #277 while Brent went from #898 to #3449.

Moved the same way as Barney

Cooper Compare
Between 1997 and 2024 in England and Wales · Boys, Barney went from #522 to #298 and Cooper from #2022 to #139.
Arlo Compare
Between 1999 and 2024 in England and Wales · Boys, Barney went from #679 to #298 and Arlo from #2943 to #15.
Harper Compare
Between 1999 and 2024 in England and Wales · Boys, Barney went from #679 to #298 and Harper from #2425 to #1402.
Kasper Compare
Between 1999 and 2024 in England and Wales · Boys, Barney went from #679 to #298 and Kasper from #2425 to #529.

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 4 regions, from 1996 to 2024. Highest recorded position: #246 in England and Wales in 2021. Source data last verified 2026-07-21.

Barney

Barney at a glance

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Barney across 3 official records

Barney by decade in England and Wales · Boys

Barney 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 Barney

Barney and the names beside it

Barney moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Barney

Moved the opposite way to Barney

Moved the same way as Barney

Barney at a glance

Barney across 3 official records

Barney by decade in England and Wales · Boys

Barney 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 Barney

Barney and the names beside it

Barney moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Barney

Moved the opposite way to Barney

Moved the same way as Barney