Barra

maleStatistical record

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

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

Barra: Recorded since 1981, its highest recorded position is #170, reached in 2025.

2registrars recorded it
46times a registrar ranked it
45years from first to last
#170highest recorded position
9groupings it qualifies for

Region

Rising

among boys in Northern Ireland · 2006–2024

View as table

Northern Ireland · Boys rank by year
Year	Rank
2006	#341
2007	#276
2009	#390
2012	#346
2013	#303
2014	#264
2015	#342
2016	#207
2017	#202
2018	#187
2019	#312
2020	#213
2022	#234
2023	#272
2024	#305

VerifiedSource: NISRA — Northern Ireland Baby Names.Confidence: high.

See all Northern Ireland names · Source: NISRA — Northern Ireland Baby Names

What the data shows

RisingNorthern Ireland · Boys

Recorded in official data among boys in Republic of Ireland in 31 of the 45 years from 1981 to 2025.

In 2024: #275 among boys in Republic of Ireland, #305 among boys in Northern Ireland.

Official data from 2 national registrars across 2 regions, 1981–2025 · NISRA. Data sources

Popularity journey

First recorded1981
First recorded at #322 among boys in Republic of Ireland in 1981 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
Republic of Ireland · Boys
Highest recorded1981–2025
Highest recorded position: #170 among boys in Republic of Ireland, in 2025 (recorded 1981–2025).
Republic of Ireland · Boys
Most recent2025
Most recently recorded at #170 among boys in Republic of Ireland, in 2025.
Republic of Ireland · Boys

Barra appears in 2 of the published lists Namewise holds. The longest record is Republic of Ireland · Boys, which has ranked it in 31 years beginning in 1981, and has registered 237 births with the name.

Barra across 2 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.

Barra'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
Republic of Ireland · Boys	#322 (1981)	#170 (2025)	#170 (2025)	31 of 45	237 (1981–2025)	29 (2025)
Northern Ireland · Boys	#341 (2006)	#187 (2018)	#305 (2024)	15 of 19	96 (2006–2024)	12 (2018)

Barra by decade in Republic of Ireland · 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 Barra in Republic of Ireland · Boys, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
1980s	17	4 of 10	4
1990s	17	5 of 10	3
2000s	26	6 of 10	4
2010s	81	10 of 10	8
2020sbusiest	96	6 of 10	16

Across Republic of Ireland · Boys, the 2020s were its busiest decade — the 6 years of it this list covers, averaging 16 births a year.

See the names Republic of Irelandhas recorded the most births with →

Barra 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 1981 to 2025. Highest recorded position: #170 in Republic of Ireland in 2025.

Barra'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	Northern Ireland	male	#305	5	High	Verified
2023	Northern Ireland	male	#272	6	High	Verified
2022	Northern Ireland	male	#234	8	High	Verified
2020	Northern Ireland	male	#213	9	High	Verified
2019	Northern Ireland	male	#312	5	High	Verified
2018	Northern Ireland	male	#187	12	High	Verified
2017	Northern Ireland	male	#202	10	High	Verified
2016	Northern Ireland	male	#207	10	High	Verified
2015	Northern Ireland	male	#342	4	High	Verified
2014	Northern Ireland	male	#264	7	High	Verified
2013	Northern Ireland	male	#303	5	High	Verified
2012	Northern Ireland	male	#346	4	High	Verified
2009	Northern Ireland	male	#390	3	High	Verified
2007	Northern Ireland	male	#276	5	High	Verified
2006	Northern Ireland	male	#341	3	High	Verified
2025	Republic of Ireland	male	#170	29	High	Verified
2024	Republic of Ireland	male	#275	15	High	Verified
2023	Republic of Ireland	male	#243	18	High	Verified
2022	Republic of Ireland	male	#262	18	High	Verified
2021	Republic of Ireland	male	#414	8	High	Verified
2020	Republic of Ireland	male	#433	8	High	Verified
2019	Republic of Ireland	male	#352	11	High	Verified
2018	Republic of Ireland	male	#572	5	High	Verified
2017	Republic of Ireland	male	#317	13	High	Verified
2016	Republic of Ireland	male	#389	9	High	Verified
2015	Republic of Ireland	male	#503	6	High	Verified
2014	Republic of Ireland	male	#403	9	High	Verified
2013	Republic of Ireland	male	#338	12	High	Verified
2012	Republic of Ireland	male	#500	6	High	Verified
2011	Republic of Ireland	male	#540	5	High	Verified
2010	Republic of Ireland	male	#542	5	High	Verified
2009	Republic of Ireland	male	#701	3	High	Verified
2008	Republic of Ireland	male	#472	6	High	Verified
2006	Republic of Ireland	male	#596	3	High	Verified
2004	Republic of Ireland	male	#390	5	High	Verified
2003	Republic of Ireland	male	#423	4	High	Verified
2002	Republic of Ireland	male	#348	5	High	Verified
1998	Republic of Ireland	male	#324	4	High	Verified
1997	Republic of Ireland	male	#337	4	High	Verified
1996	Republic of Ireland	male	#369	3	High	Verified
1995	Republic of Ireland	male	#334	3	High	Verified
1994	Republic of Ireland	male	#342	3	High	Verified
1988	Republic of Ireland	male	#271	4	High	Verified
1986	Republic of Ireland	male	#256	5	High	Verified
1982	Republic of Ireland	male	#268	5	High	Verified
1981	Republic of Ireland	male	#322	3	High	Verified

Northern Ireland hub — collected by NISRA
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 1981 and 2025, ranked in 32 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #170, first reached in 2025.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 29 births, registered in Republic of Ireland in 2025.

Its record falls into 6 separate stretches, with a longest absence of 5 years.

A second registrar first ranked it in 2006, and 25 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.

Barnie · #2301, 10y
Baron · #2254, 16y
Barrie · #234, 20y
Barry · #17, 74y

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.

Cieran · #170, 31y
Conleth · #169, 37y
Miroslaw · #168, 36y
Arturas · #167, 35y

Also first recorded in the 1980s

Records whose earliest ranking in Namewise's registrar data also falls between 1980 and 1989.

Ferdinand · #167, 38y
Fionntan · #167, 28y
Liana · #166, 34y
Mikolaj · #166, 31y

Barra was ranked #170 in Republic of Ireland · Boys in 2025. 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.

Barra 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 Barra without appearing here.

Barra moved ahead of

Phillip Compare
In 2023 they stood at #572 and #572 in Republic of Ireland · Boys; by 2024 that had become #275 and #785.
Theodor Compare
In 2018 they stood at #572 and #520 in Republic of Ireland · Boys; by 2019 that had become #352 and #764.
Alfred Compare
In 2021 they stood at #414 and #336 in Republic of Ireland · Boys; by 2022 that had become #262 and #657.
Roger Compare
In 2016 they stood at #596 and #493 in Republic of Ireland · Boys; by 2017 that had become #317 and #710.

Moved ahead of Barra

Beau Compare
In 2017 they stood at #317 and #418 in Republic of Ireland · Boys; by 2018 that had become #572 and #239.
Theodore Compare
In 2010 they stood at #542 and #720 in Republic of Ireland · Boys; by 2011 that had become #540 and #366.
Arlo Compare
In 2014 they stood at #264 and #281 in Northern Ireland · Boys; by 2015 that had become #342 and #211.
Kai Compare
In 2001 they stood at #337 and #382 in Republic of Ireland · Boys; by 2002 that had become #348 and #226.

Moved the opposite way to Barra

Adrian Compare
Between 1981 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Barra went from #322 to #170 while Adrian went from #62 to #348.
Alan Compare
Between 1981 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Barra went from #322 to #170 while Alan went from #11 to #232.
Andrew Compare
Between 1981 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Barra went from #322 to #170 while Andrew went from #26 to #106.
Anthony Compare
Between 1981 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Barra went from #322 to #170 while Anthony went from #17 to #135.

Moved the same way as Barra

Adam Compare
Between 1981 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Barra went from #322 to #170 and Adam from #88 to #20.
Alex Compare
Between 1981 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Barra went from #322 to #170 and Alex from #206 to #37.
Alexander Compare
Between 1981 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Barra went from #322 to #170 and Alexander from #133 to #55.
Arthur Compare
Between 1981 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Barra went from #322 to #170 and Arthur from #202 to #57.

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 1981 to 2025. Highest recorded position: #170 in Republic of Ireland in 2025. Source data last verified 2026-07-22.

Barra

Barra at a glance

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Barra across 2 official records

Barra by decade in Republic of Ireland · Boys

Barra appears in

Popularity data

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1980s

Names published alongside Barra

Barra and the names beside it

Barra moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Barra

Moved the opposite way to Barra

Moved the same way as Barra

Barra at a glance

Barra across 2 official records

Barra by decade in Republic of Ireland · Boys

Barra appears in

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1980s

Names published alongside Barra

Barra and the names beside it

Barra moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Barra

Moved the opposite way to Barra

Moved the same way as Barra