Recorded 1883–2025 · United States
Barry was most popular in 1962, when 6,611 American babies were given the name — ranking #129 that year. In 2025 it ranked #3,232, with 114 births. Across 1880–2025 the Social Security Administration has recorded 182,036 people named Barry.
Barry first appears in Social Security Administration records in 1883, which makes it about 142 years old as a recorded American name. It has been recorded in 134 of the 143 years since.
The Social Security Administration has recorded 182,036 American births named Barry between 1880 and 2025. That is recorded US births, not a world population — it counts people issued a Social Security number at birth in the United States. Of those, roughly 128,856 are estimated to be alive today.
114 American babies were named Barry in 2025, ranking #3,232 that year.
Barry is holding steady. Across 2021–2025 it averaged 119 births a year, against 120 a year across 2011–2015 — a change of -1% over the decade.
Measured on recorded births. American births overall have fallen since 2007, so most established names lose births over any recent decade — a name can shed births and still hold its rank. Compare the rank above, which is measured against the other names of the same year.
Across the whole record Barry is a boy’s name — 0.4% of the 182,036 Americans given it were girls and 99.6% were boys. In births since 2016 it is 0% girls and 100% boys.
Counted from every US birth the Social Security Administration recorded under this name, so it reflects use rather than opinion. A name given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a year is withheld at source and is not counted.
Roughly 128,856 Americans named Barry are alive today — 71% of everyone ever recorded with the name. The median is 65 years old, and half are between 56 and 72.
An estimate, not a count. Recorded births are carried forward through the Social Security Administration’s 2023 period life table, by age and sex. That table describes mortality in one recent year, so it credits the oldest cohorts with today’s survival rather than the harsher rates they actually lived through — the further back a name peaked, the more this will overstate how many remain. It counts people issued a Social Security number at birth, not immigrants who arrived later.
Irish · "fair haired"
How much more common the name is in each state than across the country as a whole.
See Barry on the interactive charts
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Source: U.S.A. Social Security Administration. Years 1880–2025. namelegacy.org