ninan.org

Barbara

Girls' name · Mid-century perennial

Living in the US
~866,500 survival-weighted estimate
2025 rank
#968 among girls
Births in 2025
264 1,440,831 since 1880
Typical age
73 years, median

Barbara popularity over time

Barbara rank by birth year, 1880–2025Barbara ranked #128 in 1880 and #968 in 2025. Its best rank in the period was #2, in 1937.#10#100#1,000#968best #2 in 193718901920195019802010
Rank among US baby names by birth year, 1880–2025. Lower is more popular; the scale is logarithmic so the top of the chart is not compressed.

Barbara was used most in 1947, when 48,889 babies were given the name. It is present from 1880, the first year of the record. Barbara has spent 64 years inside the national top 100.

The 2025 position is #968, on 264 births. The ten-year change is -20%. It slipped 116 places against the previous year.

Babies named Barbara per yearPeaks at 48,889 births in 1947.48,889 in 1947018901920195019802010
Recorded US births by year. The peak is labelled; the axis starts at zero.

How many people are named Barbara?

Roughly 866,500 Barbaras are alive in the US right now. SSA has recorded 1,440,831 births under the name since 1880.

This is a survival-weighted estimate, not a headcount: every recorded birth year is multiplied by the chance someone born that year is still alive, using the SSA period life table. How the estimate works.

How old is the average Barbara?

The typical living Barbara is 73 years old. The 1950s produced the largest surviving cohort. By the site’s era rules that makes Barbara a mid-century perennial name.

Your Barbara

Ages of living people named BarbaraHalf of living Barbaras are older than 73 and half younger.median 73020406080100
Estimated living bearers by age today. Each bar is a birth year, weighted by the chance someone born then is still alive.

Where Barbara is most common

Relative to births, Pennsylvania carries 3.4× the national share of Barbaras. Kentucky, Indiana and Texas follow.

Where Barbara is used more than average5 states use the name Barbara more than the national average.Alaska: not over-representedAKMaine: not over-representedMEVermont: not over-representedVTNew Hampshire: not over-representedNHWashington: not over-representedWAIdaho: not over-representedIDMontana: not over-representedMTNorth Dakota: not over-representedNDMinnesota: not over-representedMNIllinois: not over-representedILWisconsin: not over-representedWIMichigan: not over-representedMINew York: not over-representedNYOregon: not over-representedORNevada: not over-representedNVWyoming: not over-representedWYSouth Dakota: not over-representedSDIowa: not over-representedIAIndiana: 2.1× the national rateINOhio: not over-representedOHPennsylvania: 3.4× the national ratePANew Jersey: not over-representedNJConnecticut: not over-representedCTRhode Island: not over-representedRICalifornia: not over-representedCAUtah: not over-representedUTColorado: not over-representedCONebraska: not over-representedNEMissouri: 1.7× the national rateMOKentucky: 2.1× the national rateKYWest Virginia: not over-representedWVVirginia: not over-representedVAMaryland: not over-representedMDDelaware: not over-representedDEMassachusetts: not over-representedMAArizona: not over-representedAZNew Mexico: not over-representedNMKansas: not over-representedKSArkansas: not over-representedARTennessee: not over-representedTNNorth Carolina: not over-representedNCSouth Carolina: not over-representedSCDistrict of Columbia: not over-representedDCOklahoma: not over-representedOKLouisiana: not over-representedLAMississippi: not over-representedMSAlabama: not over-representedALGeorgia: not over-representedGAHawaii: not over-representedHITexas: 1.8× the national rateTXFlorida: not over-representedFL
Same as national3× or more
Location quotient, 2016–2025. Shaded states use the name more than the country does, relative to their own births. Exact figures are in the table below.
States where Barbara is over-represented, 2016–2025. The location quotient compares the state's share of the name with the national share.
StateBirthsvs national rate
Pennsylvania 302 3.4×
Kentucky 70 2.1×
Indiana 111 2.1×
Texas 521 1.8×
Missouri 81 1.7×

Barbara in England and Wales

In England and Wales, Barbara ranked #2,440 in 2025 on 11 births. That is 58% lower than five years earlier.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Counts below three are suppressed by ONS.

Where the name Barbara comes from

From Latin Barbara, the name of Saint Barbara, feminine form of barbarus, from Ancient Greek βάρβαρος (“strange, foreign”). Doublet of Varvara. From the given name; chosen because it has three A's in it representing universal affirmatives.

Etymology summarised from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0. Wiktionary entry.

Notable people named Barbara

Ordered by how many Wikipedia language editions have an article about them — a measure of reach, not of importance.
NameKnown forYearsEditions
Barbara McClintock American scientist and cytogeneticist 1902–1992 93
Barbara Stanwyck American actress 1907–1990 84
Barbara Bush First Lady of the United States from 1989 to 1993 1925–2018 78
Barbara Walters American broadcast journalist 1929–2022 62
Barbara Cartland English writer and media personality 1901–2000 59
Barbara Hershey American actress 1948 56
Barbara W. Tuchman American historian and author 1912–1989 54
Barbara Liskov American computer scientist 1939 51
Photo credits (8)

The sharpest rise. Births under this name jumped from 737 in 1911 to 1,184 in 1912 — 1.6 times over in a single year.

Birth records contain the rise and nothing about its cause. This site does not supply one.

People and dates from Wikidata (CC0), limited to those with an English Wikipedia article who are known by this name as their first name.

Related pages

Get this data

Every number on this page is available as JSON: /api/name/barbara.json. Free to use with attribution (CC BY 4.0).