Barney
About Barney
The name Barney is hot among hip Londoners and it has been above the Top 500 in the UK since 2012. You can see why - it's got a friendly happy sound and a lovely meaning and is more easily worn than Barnabas. However, Barney is a more difficult sell in America, due to Barney the Dinosaur and Barney Gumble, the loveable lout from The Simpsons. In the positive column for Barney are jazz clarinetist Barney Bigard and guitarist Barney Kessel. For those who love the name but can't get past the dinosaur, may we suggest the related names Bernard or Barnaby?
As of October 2026, Barney ranked #12274 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #202 in 1887, Nameberry popularity #801.
Editor's take: The name Barney is a boy's name meaning "son of comfort".
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2015 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2016 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2017 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | — | 0 | 0 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Barney.
Famous Barneys
- Barnett "Barney" Frank
U.S. Congressman from Massachusetts
- Barney Kessel
American jazz guitarist
- Albany Leon "Barney" Bigard
American jazz clarinetist
- Berna Eli "Barney" Oldfield
American racing driver
- Barney Martin
American actor
- Barney Ross (born Dov
Ber David Rosofsky), American boxer
- Barnaby John "Barney" Harwood
English TV personality
- Barnett Jerome "Barney" Danson
Canadian cabinet minister
- Bernhard "Barney" Dreyfuss
American baseball team owner
- Barney Sedran
American basketball player
- Barney Barnato (born Barnet Isaacs)
South African diamond mogul
- Barney Pelty
American baseball player
- (William) Barney McCosky
American baseball player
- Bernard Ernst "Barney" Berlinger
American decathlete
- Barney Aaron
English boxer
- John "Barney" Yazici aka ThatGuyBarney
Turkish,American YouTuber
Barney in pop culture
- Barney Fife
character from "The Andy Griffith Show"
- "Barney Miller
" TV sitcom and its main character
- Charles Bernard "Barney" Barton
Marvel comics character
- "Barney & Friends
" children's TV show about a purple dinosaur
- Barnabas "Barney" Stinson
character from "How I Met Your Mother"
- Barney Gumble
character from "The Simpsons"
- Barney Rubble
character on "The Flintstones"
- "Barney Google and Snuffy Smith
" comic strip
- Barney Bear
MGM animated character
- Barney Snow
character in movie "The Bumblebee Flies Anyway"
- Barney Ross
a main character in "The Expendables" movies
- Barneys New York
luxury American department store
- Barney Butter
brand of almond butter
- Barney (Rubble)
Cockney rhyming slang for "trouble"