Barnie
A diminutive form of the name Bernard, derived from the Germanic elements "bern" meaning bear and "hard" meaning brave or hardy.
Name Census estimates that about 136 living Americans carry the first name Barnie. It is a predominantly male name (99.2% of registrations). The average person named Barnie today is around 79 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Barnie births was 1927 (23 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Barnie. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Barnie with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Barnie is about 79 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Barnies were born before 1957.
People living today
136
~ 1 in 2,520,252 Americans
Peak year
1927
23 babies that year
Average age
79
years old
1972 SSA rank
#4,483
Tracked since 1892
Census
Barnie in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 204 people with the first name Barnie, which placed it at #37,948 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#37,948
National first-name rank
People counted
204
204 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
64.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Barnie
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Barnie is White at 64.2%. The next largest groups are Black (21.6%) and Hispanic (5.9%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Barnie described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Barnie at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White64.2% · 131
- Black or African American21.6% · 44
- Hispanic or Latino5.9% · 12
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.4% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.5% · 5
- Two or more races2.5% · 5
Gender
Gender distribution for Barnie
Out of the 646 babies given the name Barnie since 1880, 99.2% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Barnie as a male name
- Ranked #4,483 in 1972
- 6 male births in 1972
- Peak: 1927 (23 births)
Barnie as a female name
- Ranked #5,297 in 1949
- 5 female births in 1949
- Peak: 1949 (5 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Barnie leans strongly male. 165 people counted with this name were male (82.1%), compared with 36 female bearers (17.9%).
Popularity
Barnie: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Barnie from the 1890s through to the 1970s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 183 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Barnie by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Barnie during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Barnies live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. Georgia, North Carolina, Alabama recorded the most babies named Barnie, while Texas, Alabama, North Carolina recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 9 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Barnie
The name Barnie has its origins in the Old English language, stemming from the word "bearn," which means "child" or "son." It was initially a diminutive form of names like Barnabas or Barnaby, which were derived from the Aramaic name "Bar-Nabba," meaning "son of the prophet."
During the Middle Ages, the name Barnie gained popularity in England and Scotland, particularly among families of Anglo-Saxon descent. It was commonly used as a nickname or shortened form of longer names that began with "Barn-," such as Barnaby or Barnabas.
The earliest recorded use of the name Barnie can be traced back to the 13th century, when it appeared in various parish records and tax rolls in England. One notable historical figure bearing this name was Barnie Critchlow (c. 1300-1370), a prominent landowner and farmer from Yorkshire, England.
In the 16th century, Barnie was mentioned in the works of William Shakespeare, specifically in the play "The Merry Wives of Windsor." The character of Bardolph, whose nickname was "Barnie," appeared as one of Sir John Falstaff's companions.
Another notable figure from history was Barnie Saunders (1775-1854), a British naval officer who served during the Napoleonic Wars. He is remembered for his bravery and leadership during several battles, including the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.
In the 19th century, the name Barnie gained some popularity in Scotland, particularly in the Highlands region. One famous Scotsman with this name was Barnie Ross (1823-1891), a renowned poet and storyteller who helped preserve and promote the Gaelic language and culture.
Moving into the 20th century, Barnie Oldfield (1878-1946) was an American pioneer in the world of automobile racing. He set numerous speed records and is considered one of the founding fathers of professional auto racing in the United States.
Another notable figure was Barnie Sedran (1892-1976), a Dutch-American artist and illustrator who gained recognition for his vibrant paintings depicting scenes from American life and culture.
While the name Barnie has been less commonly used in recent times, it has a rich history and significance, particularly in English and Scottish heritage. Its connection to the concept of "child" or "son" reflects its enduring meaning as a diminutive and affectionate form of address.
People
Barnie + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Barnie as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with B
Other first names starting with B with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Barnie: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Barnie?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 136 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Barnie going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 2,520,252 US residents.
Is Barnie a common name?
We classify Barnie as "Very Rare". It ranks above 68.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 646 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Barnie most popular?
The single biggest year for Barnie was 1927, when 23 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Barnie is about 79 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Barnie in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 204 people with the name Barnie, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #37,948 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Barnie in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Barnie?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Barnie leans strongly male. 165 people counted with this name were male (82.1%), compared with 36 female bearers (17.9%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Barnie?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Barnie is White at 64.2%. The next largest groups are Black (21.6%) and Hispanic (5.9%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Barnie most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Barnie in the 2020 Census, accounting for 64.2% (131 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Barnie in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Barnie a male name?
Yes, 99.2% of people registered as Barnie in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Barnie still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Barnie in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Barnie can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are named Barnie?
Want to know how many Americans are named Barnie? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.