Barbara

#968 for girls in 2025, 264 births · Last seen for boys in 1993 at #8,700
Given to girls 99.7% of the time

Showing
Show data for
Peak · girls
1942 · 44,739 births
Debut · girls
127 births
In top 100 · girls
64 yrs
of 146 years
Total births · girls
1,436,695
since 1880

Barbara over time

girls

Rank among girls' names. Click any year to open it.

#1#10#100#1,000rank188019001920194019601980200020201964peak #2, 1942girls
Hover or use arrow keys to read values by year; click or press Enter to open that year.

Gaps mean fewer than 5 babies received the name that year, so the SSA doesn't publish it.

Show data table
Yeargirlsboys
rankbirthsrankbirths
2025#968264—
2024#852317—
2023#871308—
2022#966276—
2021#904299—
2020#886301—
2019#922287—
2018#920291—
2017#890303—
2016#856329—
2015#849329—
2014#848326—
2013#831321—
2012#893296—
2011#745369—
2010#692412—
2009#639465—
2008#747397—
2007#618482—
2006#538554—
2005#674412—
2004#623438—
2003#613437—
2002#541509—
2001#533502—
2000#505534—
1999#468563—
1998#447579—
1997#378700—
1996#388682—
1995#347758—
1994#312871—
1993#291951#8,7005
1992#2471,128#6,6707
1991#2291,239#5,5219
1990#2071,388#8,1175
1989#1861,493#4,52711
1988#1851,505#4,7869
1987#1721,632#4,5739
1986#1801,488#4,8538
1985#1691,677#3,80511
1984#1521,867#2,61318
1983#1432,020#4,1419
1982#1302,348#3,69211
1981#1192,531#3,03014
1980#1202,578#3,25613
1979#1232,493#2,89715
1978#1132,579#4,1578
1977#1012,845#2,66516
1976#982,968#3,7249
1975#833,454#2,36118
1974#773,906#2,94612
1973#634,433#3,01311
1972#585,080#1,92822
1971#476,453#1,70527
1970#418,026#1,79424
1969#398,811#1,44031
1968#369,740#1,31434
1967#3311,203#1,13243
1966#2713,123#1,10045
1965#2514,023#1,16342
1964#1916,481#1,08249
1963#1718,295#93664
1962#1420,641#87176
1961#1223,002#1,04256
1960#1224,454#95163
1959#1125,359#92668
1958#927,874#99459
1957#929,692#91968
1956#932,302#86575
1955#733,617#81880
1954#736,368#98557
1953#638,473#84872
1952#639,864#81474
1951#540,617#83870
1950#441,556#81470
1949#442,600#83467
1948#346,826#78376
1947#448,800#72789
1946#445,126#615109
1945#338,273#64987
1944#239,196#549121
1943#243,432#506150
1942#244,739#478164
1941#239,543#473155
1940#236,736#487140
1939#237,257#468150
1938#239,277#454162
1937#234,917#468144
1936#331,682#547110
1935#330,698#517124
1934#329,239#543118
1933#326,949#519119
1932#326,318#583103
1931#421,804#65084
1930#618,279#73874
1929#716,038#81563
1928#814,872#1,04144
1927#1013,161#1,11241
1926#1611,079#1,21935
1925#229,155#1,45126
1924#288,305#2,47312
1923#337,209#2,77210
1922#406,272#2,80110
1921#406,013#2,63211
1920#475,106#2,9679
1919#604,084#3,3917
1918#604,224#3,3687
1917#673,535#3,5456
1916#743,112#3,8975
1915#832,704—
1914#822,061—
1913#941,451#2,2737
1912#1021,184—
1911#119737—
1910#136612—
1909#126567—
1908#135514—
1907#129515—
1906#142413—
1905#154366—
1904#151357—
1903#151346—
1902#163306—
1901#164277—
1900#162338—
1899#165273—
1898#164304—
1897#153299—
1896#145324—
1895#150298—
1894#151290—
1893#155255—
1892#147278—
1891#152221—
1890#147241—
1889#140246—
1888#135253—
1887#132204—
1886#133207—
1885#129195—
1884#128193—
1883#142135—
1882#138130—
1881#123130—
1880#128127—
First appearance
1880

In the first year the SSA published name data, Barbara was already there! It came in at #128, and was given to 127 baby girls.


Quietest stretch: 1880–1883, when fewer than 140 girls a year got the name.

Where Barbara is popular in 1964

  • Rank in state
  • Top 10
  • 11–50
  • 51–100
  • 101–500
  • 501+
  • Not published
Alaska: #22 for girls · 25 births · 1 in 101 girlsAKMaine: #24 for girls · 89 births · 1 in 101 girlsMEVermont: #32 for girls · 30 births · 1 in 107 girlsVTNew Hampshire: #38 for girls · 45 births · 1 in 119 girlsNHWashington: #30 for girls · 177 births · 1 in 136 girlsWAIdaho: #23 for girls · 45 births · 1 in 114 girlsIDMontana: #15 for girls · 60 births · 1 in 90 girlsMTNorth Dakota: #16 for girls · 59 births · 1 in 95 girlsNDMinnesota: #12 for girls · 426 births · 1 in 80 girlsMNIllinois: #22 for girls · 921 births · 1 in 107 girlsILWisconsin: #22 for girls · 411 births · 1 in 96 girlsWIMichigan: #21 for girls · 746 births · 1 in 105 girlsMINew York: #16 for girls · 1,660 births · 1 in 97 girlsNYMassachusetts: #21 for girls · 477 births · 1 in 105 girlsMARhode Island: #32 for girls · 67 births · 1 in 113 girlsRIOregon: #30 for girls · 103 births · 1 in 133 girlsORNevada: #27 for girls · 31 births · 1 in 105 girlsNVWyoming: #27 for girls · 22 births · 1 in 106 girlsWYSouth Dakota: #17 for girls · 72 births · 1 in 87 girlsSDIowa: #25 for girls · 203 births · 1 in 119 girlsIAIndiana: #28 for girls · 398 births · 1 in 118 girlsINOhio: #26 for girls · 870 births · 1 in 108 girlsOHPennsylvania: #12 for girls · 1,248 births · 1 in 80 girlsPANew Jersey: #10 for girls · 772 births · 1 in 74 girlsNJConnecticut: #25 for girls · 228 births · 1 in 106 girlsCTCalifornia: #33 for girls · 1,082 births · 1 in 159 girlsCAUtah: #39 for girls · 65 births · 1 in 145 girlsUTColorado: #28 for girls · 145 births · 1 in 122 girlsCONebraska: #19 for girls · 138 births · 1 in 94 girlsNEMissouri: #22 for girls · 372 births · 1 in 106 girlsMOKentucky: #28 for girls · 255 births · 1 in 117 girlsKYWest Virginia: #13 for girls · 224 births · 1 in 68 girlsWVVirginia: #20 for girls · 383 births · 1 in 104 girlsVAMaryland: #17 for girls · 340 births · 1 in 88 girlsMDDelaware: #19 for girls · 48 births · 1 in 90 girlsDEArizona: #17 for girls · 132 births · 1 in 111 girlsAZNew Mexico: #7 for girls · 132 births · 1 in 80 girlsNMKansas: #27 for girls · 141 births · 1 in 122 girlsKSArkansas: #21 for girls · 170 births · 1 in 102 girlsARTennessee: #30 for girls · 267 births · 1 in 130 girlsTNNorth Carolina: #20 for girls · 441 births · 1 in 105 girlsNCSouth Carolina: #15 for girls · 319 births · 1 in 75 girlsSCDistrict of Columbia: #26 for girls · 101 births · 1 in 124 girlsDCOklahoma: #43 for girls · 124 births · 1 in 153 girlsOKLouisiana: #21 for girls · 290 births · 1 in 125 girlsLAMississippi: #11 for girls · 296 births · 1 in 77 girlsMSAlabama: #20 for girls · 297 births · 1 in 108 girlsALGeorgia: #18 for girls · 417 births · 1 in 105 girlsGAHawaii: #48 for girls · 33 births · 1 in 175 girlsHITexas: #31 for girls · 642 births · 1 in 162 girlsTXFlorida: #21 for girls · 442 births · 1 in 109 girlsFL

Hover or tap a state for its numbers.

Top states · girls
  1. New Mexico#7 · 1 in 80
  2. New Jersey#10 · 1 in 74
  3. Mississippi#11 · 1 in 77
  4. Minnesota#12 · 1 in 80
  5. Pennsylvania#12 · 1 in 80

Best ever in a state: #1 in New Hampshire, 1929.

Show every state
StateRankBirthsShare
New Mexico#71321 in 80
New Jersey#107721 in 74
Mississippi#112961 in 77
Minnesota#124261 in 80
Pennsylvania#121,2481 in 80
West Virginia#132241 in 68
Montana#15601 in 90
South Carolina#153191 in 75
New York#161,6601 in 97
North Dakota#16591 in 95
Arizona#171321 in 111
Maryland#173401 in 88
South Dakota#17721 in 87
Georgia#184171 in 105
Delaware#19481 in 90
Nebraska#191381 in 94
Alabama#202971 in 108
North Carolina#204411 in 105
Virginia#203831 in 104
Arkansas#211701 in 102
Florida#214421 in 109
Louisiana#212901 in 125
Massachusetts#214771 in 105
Michigan#217461 in 105
Alaska#22251 in 101
Illinois#229211 in 107
Missouri#223721 in 106
Wisconsin#224111 in 96
Idaho#23451 in 114
Maine#24891 in 101
Connecticut#252281 in 106
Iowa#252031 in 119
District of Columbia#261011 in 124
Ohio#268701 in 108
Kansas#271411 in 122
Nevada#27311 in 105
Wyoming#27221 in 106
Colorado#281451 in 122
Indiana#283981 in 118
Kentucky#282551 in 117
Oregon#301031 in 133
Tennessee#302671 in 130
Washington#301771 in 136
Texas#316421 in 162
Rhode Island#32671 in 113
Vermont#32301 in 107
California#331,0821 in 159
New Hampshire#38451 in 119
Utah#39651 in 145
Oklahoma#431241 in 153
Hawaii#48331 in 175

Ranks are within each state; “1 in N” is out of the girls born there that year. The SSA only publishes a name in a state when 5 or more babies of one sex got it.

See more about Barbara
Momentum · girls
Holding steady
  • 116 spots since 2024 (#852 → #968)
  • 82 spots since 2020 (#886 → #968)
  • 119 spots since 2015 (#849 → #968)
  • Biggest jump: 136 spots in 2006 (#674 → #538)
  • Biggest drop: 148 spots in 2012 (#745 → #893)
Rise & fade · girls
62 yrs to peak
  • Debuted 1880
  • Peaked 1942 at #2 (44,739 births)
  • Births halved by 1962, 20 yrs later
Top of the charts · girls
Top 10 for 32 yrs
  • Top 10: 32 yrs · run 1927–1958
  • Top 100: 64 yrs · run 1913–1976
  • Top 1,000: 146 yrs · run 1880–2025
Share of babies · girls
1 in 28
  • Highest: 1 in 28 girls born in 1938 were named Barbara (3.6%)
  • Latest: 1 in 6,088 girls born in 2025 (0.02%)
  • Its best rank, #2 in 1942, was only 1 in 30 (3.3%) — a smaller share of a much bigger birth year
Era · girls
The 1940s
  • 29.6% of all girls named Barbara (425,271) were born in this decade
Show by decade
DecadeBirthsBest rankAvg rank
1880s1,820#123 (1881)#133
1890s2,783#145 (1896)#153
1900s3,999#126 (1909)#148
1910s23,704#60 (1918)#88
1920s97,210#7 (1929)#25
1930s296,420#2 (1938)#3
1940s425,271#2 (1942)#3
1950s345,722#4 (1950)#7
1960s159,773#12 (1960)#23
1970s42,237#41 (1970)#80
1980s19,139#119 (1981)#156
1990s8,859#207 (1990)#331
2000s4,730#505 (2000)#603
2010s3,263#692 (2010)#845
2020s1,765#852 (2024)#908

All figures count published births only (names given to at least 5 girls in a year). Registrations before 1937 are incomplete, so early shares and totals run low.

Barbara in 1964

girls
#19
16,481 births · 1 in 115 girls
boys
#1,082
49 births · 1 in 40,667 boys

Top girls' names in 1964

  1. #1Lisa54,270
  2. #2Mary40,985
  3. #3Susan31,515
  4. #4Karen30,243
  5. #5Patricia26,091
  6. #6Kimberly24,128
  7. #7Donna23,808
  8. #8Linda23,629
  9. #9Cynthia20,321
  10. #10Tammy20,043
  11. #19Barbara16,481

Top boys' names in 1964

  1. #1Michael82,617
  2. #2John82,508
  3. #3David75,043
  4. #4James73,026
  5. #5Robert69,980
  6. #6Mark45,261
  7. #7William44,224
  8. #8Richard40,098
  9. #9Thomas34,463
  10. #10Jeffrey30,728
  11. #1,082Barbara49
More about 1964

girls

1,894,855 girls got a published name in 1964; 1 in 115 of them was named Barbara, which outranked 99.8% of the 7,806 girls' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 15.6% of girls (24.6% in 1880, 7.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Barbara
  1. #16Elizabeth17,294
  2. #17Julie17,283
  3. #18Brenda17,106
  4. #19Barbara16,481
  5. #20Sharon16,449
  6. #21Teresa16,420
  7. #22Angela16,256
Biggest movers since 1963
Risers
  1. ↑ 4,987Anjanette#5,891 → #904
  2. ↑ 2,403Deneen#2,619 → #216
  3. ↑ 2,162Denine#3,066 → #904
  4. ↑ 1,303Daneen#2,211 → #908
  5. ↑ 1,137Kecia#1,754 → #617
Fallers
  1. ↓ 341Leisha#993 → #1,334
  2. ↓ 320Cary#973 → #1,293
  3. ↓ 317Lisha#929 → #1,246
  4. ↓ 281Cecile#973 → #1,254
  5. ↓ 276Alexis#790 → #1,066

Among names in the top 1,000 of either year.

boys

1,992,698 boys got a published name in 1964; 1 in 40,667 of them was named Barbara, which outranked 76.4% of the 4,594 boys' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 29.0% of boys (44.2% in 1880, 8.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Barbara
  1. #1,070Rock50
  2. #1,070Roderic50
  3. #1,070Willian50
  4. #1,082Barbara49
  5. #1,082Ambrose49
  6. #1,082Brain49
  7. #1,082Chance49
  8. #1,096Ali48
  9. #1,096Burl48
  10. #1,096Claudio48

Tied with 13 names at #1,082; 3 shown. Tied names share a rank, as in SSA's lists.

Biggest movers since 1963
Risers
  1. ↑ 864Deron#1,548 → #684
  2. ↑ 653Cassius#1,513 → #860
  3. ↑ 392Kipp#1,215 → #823
  4. ↑ 363Fitzgerald#1,052 → #689
  5. ↑ 334Adrain#1,279 → #945
Fallers
  1. ↓ 286Farrell#886 → #1,172
  2. ↓ 283Tal#813 → #1,096
  3. ↓ 278Laura#921 → #1,199
  4. ↓ 272Pamela#947 → #1,219
  5. ↓ 270Huey#891 → #1,161

Among names in the top 1,000 of either year.

See the top 100 for 1964 →