Given name & surname
Barley
“bear”
Barley is a surname with more than one origin.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Barley goes back to Old English bera, meaning “bear.”
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Where it comes from
In one tradition, it comes from Old English bera.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 2020. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Barley through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 19
- 19 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 2020
- 7 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 6 in 2022. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 104 as a first name in 2020; 4,271 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Barley’s family of names
In English usage, Barley as a surname has a related form in BEHRLE.
The ring: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 1
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Similar names
If you love Barley, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Barrow
“grove”
>99% boys
Crossley
“cross” · “woodland clearing”
>99% boys
Buxton
“to bend, bow”
>99% boys
Bellingham
“bell”
>99% boys
Fordham
“homestead”
>99% boys
Walsh
“Welsh(man)”
>99% boys
Darlington
“the settlement of Dēornōþ's people”
>99% boys
Roxton
“rook” · “hill”
>99% boys