2000
#2,573
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 12,940
First available Census row
Per 100,000 4.80
Uncommon Last name
Barkley
From the English place name Berkeley, meaning "birch wood" or "birch-tree meadow."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 14,585 Americans carry the last name Barkley. That puts it at #2,758 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 4.26 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 23,500 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Barkley 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 Barkley with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
15K
1 in 23,500
Census rank
#2,758
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
4.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
13K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 12,719 bearers of the surname Barkley in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 4.26 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2758th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Barkley, the largest self-reported group is White at 71.0%. The next largest groups are Black (20.6%) and Two or More Races (3.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Barkley
The surname Barkley is of English origin, believed to have originated in the county of Derbyshire in the 13th century. It is thought to be a locational surname derived from the old English words "bere," meaning barley, and "leah," meaning a meadow or clearing, referring to a location where barley was grown.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Barkley can be found in the Hundred Rolls of 1273, where a William de Berkeleye was listed as a landowner in Derbyshire. The spelling variations during this period included Barkelay, Barkeley, and Barkley.
In the 14th century, the name appeared in several manor records and tax rolls, indicating the family's prominence in the region. One notable bearer was John de Barkley, who was mentioned in the Subsidy Rolls of 1327 as a taxpayer in Derbyshire.
The Barkley family's significance can also be seen in the place names derived from the surname. For instance, Barkley in Gloucestershire and Barkley Moor in Staffordshire were named after members of the family who held land in those areas.
During the 16th century, the Barkley name gained wider recognition with the rise of Sir Maurice Barkley (1515-1598), a prominent English lawyer and judge who served as Chief Justice of the King's Bench under Queen Elizabeth I.
Another notable figure was Sir Robert Barkley (1648-1704), an English politician and Member of Parliament for Herefordshire. He played a significant role in the Glorious Revolution of 1688, which led to the overthrow of King James II.
In the 18th century, Charles Barkley (1759-1832) was a renowned English architect known for his work on several churches and country houses in the neoclassical style.
The 19th century saw the birth of Henry Barkley (1833-1909), a successful English businessman and philanthropist who founded the Barkley Charitable Trust, which provided support for education and healthcare initiatives.
In more recent times, the name gained international recognition with the American basketball player Charles Barkley (born 1963), a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and widely regarded as one of the greatest power forwards in NBA history.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Barkley
Among Census respondents with the surname Barkley, the largest self-reported group is White at 71.0%. The next largest groups are Black (20.6%) and Two or More Races (3.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Barkley 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 Barkley surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White71.0% · 9,034
- Black or African American20.6% · 2,621
- Two or more races3.7% · 475
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 420
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 88
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 81
Timeline
Historical Census data for Barkley
Barkley 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
#2,764
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 13,051
+111 bearers (+0.9%)
Per 100,000 4.42
Rank movement Down 191 places
2020
#2,758
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 12,719
-332 bearers (-2.5%)
Per 100,000 4.26
Rank movement Up 6 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,573 | 12,940 | 4.80 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,764 | 13,051 | 4.42 | +111 bearers (+0.9%) | Down 191 places |
| 2020 | #2,758 | 12,719 | 4.26 | -332 bearers (-2.5%) | Up 6 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 Barkley 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 | #2,764 | #2,758 | 0.2% |
| Count | 13,051 | 12,719 | -2.5% |
| Per 100K | 4.42 | 4.26 | -3.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Barkley bearers went from 13,051 to 12,719 (-2.5% change). The surname moved up 6 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,764 to #2,758.
FAQ
Barkley surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Barkley?
Name Census estimates that about 14,585 living Americans carry the surname Barkley. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 23,500 residents.
How common is Barkley?
Barkley ranks #2,758 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 4.26 per 100,000 residents, which is about 4 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 12,719 people with the surname Barkley. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (14,585), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 4.26 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 4.26 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 4 of them to have the surname Barkley.
Has Barkley become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Barkley went from 13,051 recorded bearers to 12,719. That is a decrease of 332 (-2.5%). In the national ranking it rose from #2,764 to #2,758.
What does the Census say about the background of Barkley?
Among Census respondents with the surname Barkley, the largest self-reported group is White at 71.0%. The next largest groups are Black (20.6%) and Two or More Races (3.7%). 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 Barkley in the 2020 Census, accounting for 71.0% (9,034 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Barkley appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (71.0%), Black (20.6%), Two or More Races (3.7%). 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 Barkley (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 Barkley mean?
From the English place name Berkeley, meaning "birch wood" or "birch-tree meadow." 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 Barkley (4.26 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 Barkley?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.