Given name & surname · also Gaelic
Barry
“a fair-haired man”
Barry is used as a given name and a surname. One interpretation is “a fair-haired man.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One interpretation is “a fair-haired man.”
Where it comes from
In English use, Barry is a short form of Bartholomew. An origin associated with Bartholomew is Aramaic.
Explained through its name family
How it developed
This form developed as an English adaptation of a name used in another language.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1883. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Barry through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 182,036
- 181,270 boys · 766 girls
- Most popular year
- 1962
- 6,611 babies
- 2025
- 114
- #1,520 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −20%
- Easing
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 114 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 1,520 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 19.7% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 6,585 in 1962. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (15). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 136,560 as a first name in 2020; 47,279 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.
Barry’s family of names
In English usage, Barry is a diminutive of Bartholomew. Barry has a feminine form in Berry. In English usage, Barry has a related form in Barrie.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Barry has relatives in 7 languages. Lines run from its Irish roots to each of them.
Irishwhere Barry comes from · 5 names
Nicknames & forms 20
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 9
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- PeriMāori
- Irishoriginal
- FinbarrIrish
- FinnbarIrish
- Finbarsee also · Irish
- बॅरीMarathi
- בְּאֵרִיHebrew
- 巴里Mandarin
Show 1 moreShow fewer
See also 1
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Barry
- Barry MarshallNobel Prize winner, and Professor of Clinical Microbiologyborn 1951
- Barry BarishAmerican physicistborn 1936
- Barry BostwickAmerican actorborn 1945
- Barry WhiteAmerican soul singer (1944–2003)
- Barry LevinsonAmerican screenwriter, film director, actor, and producerborn 1942
- Barry GoldwaterAmerican politician and military officer (1909–1998)
- Barry FitzgeraldIrish actor (1888–1961)
- Barry GibbBritish musicianborn 1946
- Barry KeoghanIrish actorborn 1992
Characters named Barry: Barry Allen (superhero appearing in DC Comics publications and related media), Barry Burton (Resident Evil), Barry Allen (DC Extended Universe character).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Barry, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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