Barris
An Arabic name meaning "pious", "spiritual" or "devoted to God".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Barris. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Barris today is around 42 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Barris births was 1982 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Barris. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Barris. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
1982
5 babies that year
Average age
42
years old
1982 SSA rank
#6,458
Tracked since 1982
Popularity
Barris: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Barris 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 Barris during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Barris
The name Barris is believed to have its origins in the ancient Celtic languages spoken across Western Europe during the Iron Age and Roman era. It is likely derived from the Proto-Celtic root *barros, meaning "bush" or "thicket." This root gave rise to words like the Welsh bar, meaning "branch," and the Gaulish proper name Barros.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Barris can be found in the writings of the ancient Greek geographer Strabo, who mentioned a Gallic chieftain named Barros in his work "Geographica" from around 7 BCE. The name also appears in various Roman inscriptions and records from the first few centuries CE, indicating its use among Celtic tribes across Gaul, Britannia, and other Roman provinces.
In the Middle Ages, the name Barris surfaced in various forms across Europe, including Barrius, Barius, and Barrus. One notable figure bearing this name was Barrius Scholasticus, a 6th-century Christian grammarian and philosopher from Constantinople.
During the Renaissance and early modern periods, the name Barris was occasionally used in various European contexts. For example, Barris Haussen (1576-1638) was a German military engineer and architect who served under the Swedish king Gustavus Adolphus during the Thirty Years' War.
In the 19th century, the name Barris gained some prominence with individuals like Barris Cornwall (1844-1922), an English artist and painter known for his landscapes and marine scenes. Another notable bearer of the name was Barris Meredith (1853-1928), a Welsh businessman and philanthropist who founded the Meredith Trust for the education of Welsh children.
More recently, Barris Bronte (1914-1989) was an Australian actor and playwright who gained recognition for his work in theater and television. Barris Kulesza (1924-2002) was a Polish-born American artist and sculptor known for his abstract expressionist works.
While not as common as some other names, Barris has a rich history spanning various cultures and time periods, with its roots tracing back to the ancient Celtic languages and peoples of Western Europe.
People
Barris + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Barris 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
Barris: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Barris?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Barris 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 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Barris a common name?
We classify Barris as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Barris most popular?
The single biggest year for Barris was 1982, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Barris is about 42 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Barris in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Barris a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Barris 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 Barris still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Barris 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 Barris 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people are called Barris?
You can see how many people have the name Barris on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.