2000
#109,915
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 149
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.06
Very Rare Last name
Barcley
A locational surname referring to someone who resided near a meadow or clearing.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 132 Americans carry the last name Barcley. That puts it at #145,757 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,596,624 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Barcley surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Barcley with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
132
1 in 2,596,624
Census rank
#145,757
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
115
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 115 bearers of the surname Barcley in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 145757th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Barcley, the largest self-reported group is White at 56.5%. The next largest groups are Black (24.3%) and Hispanic (13.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Barcley
The surname Barcley has its origins in the Anglo-Saxon era of Britain. It is derived from the Old English words 'bær' meaning 'bear' and 'leah' meaning 'meadow' or 'clearing'. The name likely referred to someone who lived near a bear's meadow or clearing, making it a locational surname.
The earliest recorded spelling of the name appears in the Pipe Rolls of Lincolnshire in 1176, where it is listed as 'Berchelai'. Similar early spellings include 'Barkeley' and 'Barkeley'. The name is also found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it is recorded as 'Berchelai'.
One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was Robert de Barcley, who lived in Gloucestershire in the 13th century. Another notable figure was Sir Thomas Barcley, a 14th-century English knight who fought in the Hundred Years' War.
In the 15th century, the Barcley family established themselves as landowners in Somerset, where they held the manor of Barcley near Wrington. One of the most famous members of this family was Alexander Barcley (c. 1475-1552), a poet and priest who translated several works from Latin and French into English.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the name spread to Scotland, where it was sometimes spelled 'Barkley'. One notable Scot with this surname was John Barcley (1582-1621), a writer and satirist who was born in Pont-à-Mousson, Lorraine.
Other notable bearers of the Barcley surname include Robert Barcley (1648-1690), a Scottish Quaker writer and theologian, and Sir George Barcley (1776-1854), a British naval officer who served in the Napoleonic Wars.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Barcley
Among Census respondents with the surname Barcley, the largest self-reported group is White at 56.5%. The next largest groups are Black (24.3%) and Hispanic (13.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Barcley bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Barcley surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White56.5% · 65
- Black or African American24.3% · 28
- Hispanic or Latino13.9% · 16
- Two or more races4.3% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Barcley
Barcley appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#131,379
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 129
-20 bearers (-13.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 21,464 places
2020
#145,757
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
-14 bearers (-10.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 14,378 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #109,915 | 149 | 0.06 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #131,379 | 129 | 0.04 | -20 bearers (-13.4%) | Down 21,464 places |
| 2020 | #145,757 | 115 | 0.04 | -14 bearers (-10.9%) | Down 14,378 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Barcley surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #131,379 | #145,757 | -10.9% |
| Count | 129 | 115 | -10.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -3.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Barcley bearers went from 129 to 115 (-10.9% change). The surname moved down 14,378 positions in the national ranking, going from #131,379 to #145,757.
FAQ
Barcley surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Barcley?
Name Census estimates that about 132 living Americans carry the surname Barcley. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,596,624 residents.
How common is Barcley?
Barcley ranks #145,757 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 115 people with the surname Barcley. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (132), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Barcley.
Has Barcley become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Barcley went from 129 recorded bearers to 115. That is a decrease of 14 (-10.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #131,379 to #145,757.
What does the Census say about the background of Barcley?
Among Census respondents with the surname Barcley, the largest self-reported group is White at 56.5%. The next largest groups are Black (24.3%) and Hispanic (13.9%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Barcley in the 2020 Census, accounting for 56.5% (65 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Barcley appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (56.5%), Black (24.3%), Hispanic (13.9%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Barcley (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Barcley mean?
A locational surname referring to someone who resided near a meadow or clearing. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Barcley (0.04 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the surname Barcley?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.