Barrington
From the Old English "beorg" meaning hill and "tun" meaning settlement.
Name Census estimates that about 1,156 living Americans carry the first name Barrington. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Barrington today is around 37 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Barrington births was 1991 (43 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Barrington. 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.
People living today
1.2K
~ 1 in 296,500 Americans
Peak year
1991
43 babies that year
Average age
37
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,364
Tracked since 1928
Popularity
Barrington: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Barrington from the 1920s through to the 2020s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 290 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Barrington 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 Barrington during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Barringtons live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. New York, Florida, California recorded the most babies named Barrington, while District of Columbia, California, Florida recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 65 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Barrington
The name Barrington is of English origin, derived from the Old English words "bær" meaning "grove" or "clearing" and "tun" meaning "settlement" or "enclosure." It is a locational name that originally referred to someone who lived near or came from a settlement or town called Barrington.
The earliest known record of the name Barrington can be traced back to the 11th century, shortly after the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. At that time, the name was spelled "Barentone" or "Barintone" and was associated with several places in England, including villages in Gloucestershire, Cambridgeshire, and Somerset.
One of the earliest known historical figures with the name Barrington was Sir Thomas de Barrington, who lived in the 13th century and served as a knight during the reign of King Henry III. He was granted lands in Gloucestershire and is considered a progenitor of the Barrington family in England.
Another notable figure with the name Barrington was John Shute Barrington, 1st Viscount Barrington, who was born in 1678 and served as a British politician and statesman during the 18th century. He held various positions in the government, including Secretary at War and Chancellor of the Exchequer.
In the 19th century, one of the most famous individuals with the name Barrington was Sir Jonah Barrington, an Irish lawyer, judge, and writer, who was born in 1760. He is best known for his memoir "Personal Sketches of His Own Times," which provides a valuable account of life in Ireland during the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
Another prominent figure with the name Barrington was Daines Barrington, an English naturalist, antiquary, and lawyer, who lived from 1727 to 1800. He made significant contributions to the study of natural history and was a co-founder of the Society of Antiquaries of London.
One of the earliest known Americans with the name Barrington was James Barrington, a British-born merchant who settled in Rhode Island in the late 17th century. He played a prominent role in the colony's affairs and served as a deputy to the General Assembly.
Throughout its history, the name Barrington has been associated with nobility, scholarship, and public service, reflecting the diverse backgrounds and accomplishments of those who have borne this name.
People
Barrington + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Barrington 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
Barrington: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Barrington?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,156 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Barrington 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 296,500 US residents.
Is Barrington a common name?
We classify Barrington as "Rare". It ranks above 91% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,269 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Barrington most popular?
The single biggest year for Barrington was 1991, when 43 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Barrington is about 37 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Barrington a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Barrington 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.
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.