Barbara vs Barrett
American parents have registered 1,440,831 Barbaras since 1880, against 34,417 Barretts. But in 2025 it was Barrett that was commoner, 2,178 babies to 264.
Babies given each name, 1880–2025
Barbara Barrett
Each line is every baby given the name that year, girls and boys added together — the only count that means the same thing for both names. A line breaks where the name fell below five babies in a year — the point at which the SSA stops publishing it — rather than being drawn through a figure nobody published. A single published year in a gap shows as a dot.
Who was ahead
Of the 146 years in which either name was published, Barbara for 128 years and Barrett for 18 years. The lead changed hands once.
Side by side
| Barbara | Barrett | |
|---|---|---|
| Total US births | 1,440,831 | 34,417 |
| Most in one year | 48,889 | 2,178 |
| Babies in 2025 | 264 | 2,178 |
| Estimated living today | 824,000 | 33,000 |
| Median age today | 73 | 8 |
| Peak year | 1947 | 2025 |
| Best rank | 4th girls | 171st boys |
| Rank in 2025 | 968th | 171st |
| First recorded | 1880 | 1886 |
| Girls / boys | 1,436,695 / 4,136 | 992 / 33,425 |
A rank is a position within one sex’s list for one year, so the two rank rows are not subtracted from one another and the winning column is not marked on them. The living figure is a life-table estimate, not a count.
Which name is older
Half of the Barbaras alive today are over 73; half the Barretts are over 8. That is 65 years between them: two names in use at the same time, worn by two different generations.
Where each one is strongest
- Barbara the District of Columbia (1.8×), Rhode Island (1.6×), Vermont (1.6×)
- Barrett Nebraska (3.2×), Alaska (2.2×), Idaho (2.1×)
How much commoner the name is in that state than it is nationally, from births recorded since 1910.
Compare something else
Related comparisons
Social Security Administration birth records, 1880–2025, public domain. Full histories: Barbara and Barrett.