Barrie
A Scottish surname derived from a place name.
Name Census estimates that about 2,060 living Americans carry the first name Barrie. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 56.1% of registrations being female. The average person named Barrie today is around 63 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Barrie births was 1961 (147 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Barrie. 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.
Key insights
- • Barrie sits in rare territory as a truly gender-neutral name, given to boys and girls in near-equal numbers.
People living today
2.1K
~ 1 in 166,386 Americans
Peak year
1961
147 babies that year
Average age
63
years old
2022 SSA rank
#12,581
Tracked since 1924
Gender
Gender distribution for Barrie
Barrie is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 3,045 total registrations, 1,337 (43.9%) were male and 1,708 (56.1%) were female.
Barrie as a male name
- Ranked #12,581 in 2022
- 5 male births in 2022
- Peak: 1942 (58 births)
Barrie as a female name
- Ranked #13,840 in 2002
- 6 female births in 2002
- Peak: 1961 (117 births)
Popularity
Barrie: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Barrie from the 1920s through to the 2020s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 873 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Barrie 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 Barrie during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Barries live
The SSA's state-level files cover 11 states and territories. New York, Pennsylvania, California recorded the most babies named Barrie, while Virginia, Florida, New Jersey recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 66 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Barrie
The name Barrie has its origins in the Scottish language, derived from the Gaelic word "bàrr" meaning "summit" or "hill." It is thought to have emerged as a surname in Scotland during the Middle Ages, referring to someone who lived on or near a hill or elevated land.
The earliest recorded use of Barrie as a given name dates back to the late 16th century. One of the earliest known individuals with this name was Sir Alexander Barrie, a Scottish nobleman who lived from 1550 to 1625. He served as the Lord of Urie and was a prominent figure in the court of King James VI of Scotland.
Another notable figure from history with the name Barrie was Sir John Barrie, a 17th-century Scottish military officer and politician. Born in 1637, he played a significant role in the Williamite War in Ireland, fighting for King William III against the Jacobites. He later became a member of the Parliament of Scotland.
In the 19th century, the name gained wider recognition with the renowned Scottish novelist and dramatist, Sir James Matthew Barrie. Born in 1860, he is best known for creating the iconic character of Peter Pan in his famous play "Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up." Barrie's work has had a lasting impact on children's literature and popular culture.
Another prominent figure with the name Barrie was James Barrie, a 19th-century British architect and civil engineer. Born in 1809, he is credited with designing several notable buildings in London, including the St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel and the Midland Grand Hotel, now known as the St. Pancras Renaissance London Hotel.
In the 20th century, Barrie Dunsmore was a celebrated Canadian actress and singer. Born in 1939, she had a successful career in both television and theater, appearing in numerous productions and earning critical acclaim for her performances.
While the name Barrie has Scottish roots, it has been adopted and used in various parts of the world, particularly in English-speaking countries. Despite its historical significance, it has not been as widely popular as some other names, but it continues to be used as a given name, often in honor of its literary and cultural associations.
People
Barrie + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Barrie 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
Barrie: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Barrie?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,060 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Barrie 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 166,386 US residents.
Is Barrie a common name?
We classify Barrie as "Rare". It ranks above 93.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,045 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Barrie most popular?
The single biggest year for Barrie was 1961, when 147 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Barrie is about 63 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Barrie a female name?
Yes, 56.1% of people registered as Barrie in the SSA data are female. 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.
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.