Barry Watson
There are approximately 111 people named Barry Watson living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 3,087,877 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Barry with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Watson. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and Census demographics where available.
Expected bearers
111
1 in 3,087,877
Named Barry
137K
Alive today
Named Watson
279K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 137K
Rarity: Common
Gender: Male
Peak year: 1962
Average age: 63
Top Census group: White (85.0%)
Estimated bearers: 279K
Rarity: Common
Census rank: #87
Per 100K: 81.28
Top ancestry: White (63.3%)
First name trend
Barry: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Barry. The peak year was 1962 with 6,610 births. The average person named Barry today is 63 years old.
Babies born per year
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Barry
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the first name Barry, from the 2020 US Census Bureau first-name tables. The largest published group is White at 85.0%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Barry described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. These are self-reported numbers, and they describe the population who happened to carry the name Barry at the time of the Census. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White85.0% · 116,096
- Black or African American10.1% · 13,786
- Two or more races2.1% · 2,814
- Hispanic or Latino1.2% · 1,700
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 1,520
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 634
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Watson surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Watson, from the 2020 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 63.3%.
The bar chart below shows how people with the surname Watson described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. These are self-reported numbers, and they describe the population who happened to carry the surname Watson at the time of the Census. A surname does not determine a person's race or ethnicity.
- White63.3% · 153,686
- Black or African American27.1% · 65,952
- Two or more races4.6% · 11,241
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 8,470
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 1,934
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 1,673
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Barry has a living-bearer frequency of 0.0398% of the US population, based on 136,504 estimated living Americans carrying this first name (from SSA birth records going back to 1880, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables).
Even though the Census Bureau now publishes first-name tables, we do not use that file as the main first-name input for this estimate. The latest first-name Census snapshot is from 2020, which makes it 6 years old today. Because Census first-name data is only released once every 10 years, SSA birth records plus CDC survival rates give a better current estimate of how many people are likely alive with the name Barry right now.
The surname Watson appears at a rate of 81.28 per 100,000 residents in the 2020 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.0813%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 111 people with the full name Barry Watson. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
Related
Other people named Barry
Related
Other people with the surname Watson
FAQ
Barry Watson: questions and answers
How many people are named Barry Watson?
We estimate approximately 111 people in the United States share the full name Barry Watson. That works out to about 1 in 3,087,877 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.0398%) with the surname frequency (81.28 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Barry Watson?
We classify Barry Watson as "Very Rare". About 1 in 3,087,877 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Barry a male or female name?
Barry is predominantly male. Out of 181,921 total SSA registrations, 99.6% were male and 0.4% were female. See the full Barry profile for detailed gender data.
Where does this data come from?
First-name data comes from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files (1880 to 2024). Surname data comes from the 2020 US Census Bureau decennial surname tables. Living-bearer estimates use CDC actuarial life tables to adjust for mortality. Read the full methodology.
How common is the name Barry Watson?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people are called Barry Watson at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.