2000
#11,677
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,462
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.91
Rare Last name
Barrie
A Scottish locational surname derived from the lands of Barrie in Angus or from Barry Links in Forfar.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,954 Americans carry the last name Barrie. That puts it at #9,102 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.15 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 86,685 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Barrie 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 Barrie with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
4.0K
1 in 86,685
Census rank
#9,102
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,448 bearers of the surname Barrie in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.15 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9102nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Barrie, the largest self-reported group is White at 51.2%. The next largest groups are Black (41.4%) and Two or More Races (3.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Barrie
The surname Barrie originated in Scotland. It is a locational name derived from Barrie, a town situated between the cities of Dundee and Perth in the county of Angus. The name Barrie is believed to have derived from the Gaelic words "barr" meaning "height" or "hill", and "ath" meaning "ford" or "river crossing".
The earliest recorded instance of the surname Barrie can be traced back to the 12th century. It appears in the Cartulary of Arbroath Abbey, a medieval manuscript that contains records of land grants and transactions in the area. In this document, a person named Malice de Barrie is mentioned as a witness to a charter granted by King William the Lion of Scotland in the late 12th century.
The Barrie surname is also found in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, a collection of written instruments by which Scottish nobles and clergy were compelled to swear allegiance to King Edward I of England. Several individuals with the surname Barrie, including Nicol de Barri and William de Barre, are listed among the Scottish landowners who submitted to Edward I's rule.
One of the earliest notable individuals with the surname Barrie was Sir Alexander Barrie (c. 1460 - c. 1530), a Scottish nobleman and landowner who served as the Provost of the town of Dundee. Another prominent figure was Sir David Barrie (1574 - 1645), a Scottish military commander who fought in the Thirty Years' War and later served as the Governor of Breda in the Netherlands.
In the literary world, James Matthew Barrie (1860 - 1937) was a Scottish novelist and playwright best known for creating the character of Peter Pan. His most famous works include the play "Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up" and the novel "Peter and Wendy".
Other notable individuals with the Barrie surname include Sir John Barrie (1705 - 1781), a Scottish judge and Lord of Session, and Sir Robert Barrie (1774 - 1841), a British naval officer who served as the Commander-in-Chief of the East Indies Station during the Napoleonic Wars.
The surname Barrie has also been associated with various place names in Scotland, such as Barrie in Angus, Barrie in Forfar, and Barrie in Perthshire. Over time, the name has evolved into different spellings, including Barry, Barrie, Barre, and Barrey, reflecting regional variations and linguistic influences.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Barrie
Among Census respondents with the surname Barrie, the largest self-reported group is White at 51.2%. The next largest groups are Black (41.4%) and Two or More Races (3.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Barrie 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 Barrie surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White51.2% · 1,767
- Black or African American41.4% · 1,428
- Two or more races3.3% · 113
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 106
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 27
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Barrie
Barrie 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
#10,219
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,154
+692 bearers (+28.1%)
Per 100,000 1.07
Rank movement Up 1,458 places
2020
#9,102
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,448
+294 bearers (+9.3%)
Per 100,000 1.15
Rank movement Up 1,117 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,677 | 2,462 | 0.91 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,219 | 3,154 | 1.07 | +692 bearers (+28.1%) | Up 1,458 places |
| 2020 | #9,102 | 3,448 | 1.15 | +294 bearers (+9.3%) | Up 1,117 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 Barrie 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 | #10,219 | #9,102 | 10.9% |
| Count | 3,154 | 3,448 | 9.3% |
| Per 100K | 1.07 | 1.15 | 7.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Barrie bearers went from 3,154 to 3,448 (+9.3% change). The surname moved up 1,117 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,219 to #9,102.
FAQ
Barrie surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Barrie?
Name Census estimates that about 3,954 living Americans carry the surname Barrie. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 86,685 residents.
How common is Barrie?
Barrie ranks #9,102 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.15 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,448 people with the surname Barrie. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,954), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.15 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.15 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Barrie.
Has Barrie become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Barrie went from 3,154 recorded bearers to 3,448. That is an increase of 294 (+9.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #10,219 to #9,102.
What does the Census say about the background of Barrie?
Among Census respondents with the surname Barrie, the largest self-reported group is White at 51.2%. The next largest groups are Black (41.4%) and Two or More Races (3.3%). 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 Barrie in the 2020 Census, accounting for 51.2% (1,767 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Barrie appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (51.2%), Black (41.4%), Two or More Races (3.3%). 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 Barrie (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 Barrie mean?
A Scottish locational surname derived from the lands of Barrie in Angus or from Barry Links in Forfar. 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 Barrie (1.15 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 are called Barrie?
Find out how common the surname Barrie is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.