Meaning not yet researched.
Barbara: US girls given the name each year, 1880 to 2025, from Social Security card applications. 264 in 2025. Its best rank was #2 in 1944.
US births per year · SSA card applications
Peaked at #2 in 1944; #968 in 2025. Every baby recorded as Barbara in 2025 was a girl.
Baby name · US data 1880–2025
#968 for US girls in 2025. Its best year was 1944, at #2.
Hover, tap or use the arrow keys for any year. Years with fewer than five babies of a sex are not published by SSA and show as zero.
Barbara: US girls given the name each year from 1880 to 2025. 264 girls in 2025. Peak: #2 in 1944 · most girls in one year: 48,800 (1947).
In 2025, 264 US girls were named Barbara, making it the 968th most common girls’ name of the year, down 115 places from #853 in 2024. That is 53 fewer than the 317 girls named Barbara in 2024. Its best rank for girls was #2, reached in 1944. The most girls given the name in a single year was 48,800, in 1947. For comparison, it was #850 in 2015 and #4 in 1950.
Social Security card records list Barbara in every one of the 146 years from 1880 to 2025; in 1880 there were 127 babies with the name. In all, 1,440,831 US babies have been given the name, 99.7% of them girls and 0.3% boys. Its busiest decade was the 1940s, with 426,429 babies named Barbara.
Over the 10 years from 2016 to 2025, 2,975 US girls were named Barbara; the busiest of those years was 2016, with 329. In 2025 that was about 1 in 6,088 of the girls in SSA’s list for the year.
Among the states, Barbara ranked highest in Pennsylvania in 2025, at #416 for girls there. It was not in the top 100 of any state. Related spellings in the SSA files include Barbra (7,758 babies since 1880). Rarer spellings such as Babs, Barba and Varvara are summarised on this page. The open nickname list we use links it to Bab, Babs, Barbie, Barby and Bobbie.
Meaning not yet researched.
We publish a meaning only with a cited source and a confidence label, and never generate one. Meanings are being researched for the most common names first.
Wikidata records this spelling as a given name in Czech, Dutch, English, German, Italian, Latin, Latvian, Polish and Slovene. That is where the name is used, not necessarily where it comes from.
Rare spellings summarised here: Babs (285), Barba (208), Varvara (192), Barbera (164), Barbare (10), Barbaraa (5), Barbora (5).
Numbers are all-time US births. Links come from Wikidata’s “said to be the same as” (P460, CC0) and our spelling rule: at most two letters different, with the same sound pattern.
Barbara is listed as a nickname for Babs, Barbie.
Source: carltonnorthern/nicknames (Apache-2.0).
US girls. Rank within each state. SSA leaves out states where fewer than five girls got the name, so 34 are not listed.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank 2025 | Rank 2015 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania | 26 | #416 | #377 |
| Kentucky | 9 | #449 | #745 |
| Iowa | 6 | #509 | — |
| Indiana | 13 | #514 | #704 |
| Missouri | 11 | #520 | #689 |
| Wisconsin | 7 | #632 | #863 |
| Texas | 42 | #714 | #600 |
| Michigan | 9 | #796 | #1,025 |
| Illinois | 11 | #810 | #925 |
| Ohio | 10 | #894 | #665 |
| New York | 17 | #914 | #620 |
| Arizona | 5 | #1,065 | #865 |
| Washington | 5 | #1,072 | #966 |
| California | 23 | #1,115 | #810 |
| Virginia | 5 | #1,210 | #1,244 |
| North Carolina | 6 | #1,299 | #829 |
| Florida | 10 | #1,341 | #774 |
Births and national rank for each year SSA lists the name, newest first.
| Year | Girls | Girls rank | Boys | Boys rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 264 | #968 | — | — |
| 2024 | 317 | #853 | — | — |
| 2023 | 308 | #871 | — | — |
| 2022 | 276 | #967 | — | — |
| 2021 | 299 | #904 | — | — |
| 2020 | 301 | #886 | — | — |
| 2019 | 287 | #922 | — | — |
| 2018 | 291 | #921 | — | — |
| 2017 | 303 | #890 | — | — |
| 2016 | 329 | #856 | — | — |
| 2015 | 329 | #850 | — | — |
| 2014 | 326 | #848 | — | — |
| 2013 | 321 | #831 | — | — |
| 2012 | 296 | #894 | — | — |
| 2011 | 369 | #746 | — | — |
| 2010 | 412 | #692 | — | — |
| 2009 | 465 | #639 | — | — |
| 2008 | 397 | #747 | — | — |
| 2007 | 482 | #618 | — | — |
| 2006 | 554 | #538 | — | — |
| 2005 | 412 | #674 | — | — |
| 2004 | 438 | #623 | — | — |
| 2003 | 437 | #614 | — | — |
| 2002 | 509 | #541 | — | — |
| 2001 | 502 | #533 | — | — |
| 2000 | 534 | #505 | — | — |
| 1999 | 563 | #468 | — | — |
| 1998 | 579 | #447 | — | — |
| 1997 | 700 | #378 | — | — |
| 1996 | 682 | #388 | — | — |
| 1995 | 758 | #347 | — | — |
| 1994 | 871 | #312 | — | — |
| 1993 | 951 | #291 | 5 | #8,819 |
| 1992 | 1,128 | #247 | 7 | #6,729 |
| 1991 | 1,239 | #229 | 9 | #5,557 |
| 1990 | 1,388 | #207 | 5 | #8,229 |
| 1989 | 1,493 | #186 | 11 | #4,550 |
| 1988 | 1,505 | #185 | 9 | #4,818 |
| 1987 | 1,632 | #172 | 9 | #4,600 |
| 1986 | 1,488 | #180 | 8 | #4,890 |
| 1985 | 1,677 | #169 | 11 | #3,820 |
| 1984 | 1,867 | #152 | 18 | #2,621 |
| 1983 | 2,020 | #143 | 9 | #4,161 |
| 1982 | 2,348 | #130 | 11 | #3,708 |
| 1981 | 2,531 | #119 | 14 | #3,044 |
| 1980 | 2,578 | #120 | 13 | #3,275 |
| 1979 | 2,493 | #123 | 15 | #2,916 |
| 1978 | 2,579 | #113 | 8 | #4,184 |
| 1977 | 2,845 | #101 | 16 | #2,670 |
| 1976 | 2,968 | #98 | 9 | #3,744 |
| 1975 | 3,454 | #83 | 18 | #2,369 |
| 1974 | 3,906 | #77 | 12 | #2,962 |
| 1973 | 4,433 | #63 | 11 | #3,033 |
| 1972 | 5,080 | #58 | 22 | #1,934 |
| 1971 | 6,453 | #47 | 27 | #1,709 |
| 1970 | 8,026 | #41 | 24 | #1,799 |
| 1969 | 8,811 | #39 | 31 | #1,443 |
| 1968 | 9,740 | #36 | 34 | #1,315 |
| 1967 | 11,203 | #33 | 43 | #1,133 |
| 1966 | 13,123 | #27 | 45 | #1,100 |
| 1965 | 14,023 | #25 | 42 | #1,164 |
| 1964 | 16,481 | #19 | 49 | #1,083 |
| 1963 | 18,295 | #17 | 64 | #937 |
| 1962 | 20,641 | #14 | 76 | #872 |
| 1961 | 23,002 | #12 | 56 | #1,042 |
| 1960 | 24,454 | #12 | 63 | #952 |
| 1959 | 25,359 | #11 | 68 | #928 |
| 1958 | 27,874 | #9 | 59 | #994 |
| 1957 | 29,692 | #9 | 68 | #919 |
| 1956 | 32,302 | #9 | 75 | #866 |
| 1955 | 33,617 | #7 | 80 | #819 |
| 1954 | 36,368 | #7 | 57 | #985 |
| 1953 | 38,473 | #6 | 72 | #848 |
| 1952 | 39,864 | #6 | 74 | #814 |
| 1951 | 40,617 | #5 | 70 | #838 |
| 1950 | 41,556 | #4 | 70 | #814 |
| 1949 | 42,600 | #4 | 67 | #836 |
| 1948 | 46,826 | #3 | 76 | #783 |
| 1947 | 48,800 | #4 | 89 | #727 |
| 1946 | 45,126 | #4 | 109 | #615 |
| 1945 | 38,273 | #3 | 87 | #649 |
| 1944 | 39,196 | #2 | 121 | #549 |
| 1943 | 43,432 | #2 | 150 | #506 |
| 1942 | 44,739 | #2 | 164 | #478 |
| 1941 | 39,543 | #2 | 155 | #473 |
| 1940 | 36,736 | #2 | 140 | #489 |
| 1939 | 37,257 | #2 | 150 | #468 |
| 1938 | 39,277 | #2 | 162 | #454 |
| 1937 | 34,917 | #2 | 144 | #468 |
| 1936 | 31,682 | #3 | 110 | #547 |
| 1935 | 30,698 | #3 | 124 | #517 |
| 1934 | 29,239 | #3 | 118 | #543 |
| 1933 | 26,949 | #3 | 119 | #519 |
| 1932 | 26,318 | #3 | 103 | #583 |
| 1931 | 21,804 | #4 | 84 | #650 |
| 1930 | 18,279 | #6 | 74 | #739 |
| 1929 | 16,038 | #7 | 63 | #817 |
| 1928 | 14,872 | #8 | 44 | #1,041 |
| 1927 | 13,161 | #10 | 41 | #1,113 |
| 1926 | 11,079 | #16 | 35 | #1,222 |
| 1925 | 9,155 | #22 | 26 | #1,454 |
| 1924 | 8,305 | #28 | 12 | #2,482 |
| 1923 | 7,209 | #33 | 10 | #2,781 |
| 1922 | 6,272 | #40 | 10 | #2,816 |
| 1921 | 6,013 | #40 | 11 | #2,646 |
| 1920 | 5,106 | #47 | 9 | #2,984 |
| 1919 | 4,084 | #60 | 7 | #3,424 |
| 1918 | 4,224 | #60 | 7 | #3,394 |
| 1917 | 3,535 | #67 | 6 | #3,586 |
| 1916 | 3,112 | #74 | 5 | #3,947 |
| 1915 | 2,704 | #83 | — | — |
| 1914 | 2,061 | #82 | — | — |
| 1913 | 1,451 | #94 | 7 | #2,293 |
| 1912 | 1,184 | #102 | — | — |
| 1911 | 737 | #119 | — | — |
| 1910 | 612 | #136 | — | — |
| 1909 | 567 | #126 | — | — |
| 1908 | 514 | #135 | — | — |
| 1907 | 515 | #129 | — | — |
| 1906 | 413 | #142 | — | — |
| 1905 | 366 | #154 | — | — |
| 1904 | 357 | #151 | — | — |
| 1903 | 346 | #151 | — | — |
| 1902 | 306 | #163 | — | — |
| 1901 | 277 | #164 | — | — |
| 1900 | 338 | #162 | — | — |
| 1899 | 273 | #165 | — | — |
| 1898 | 304 | #164 | — | — |
| 1897 | 299 | #153 | — | — |
| 1896 | 324 | #145 | — | — |
| 1895 | 298 | #150 | — | — |
| 1894 | 290 | #151 | — | — |
| 1893 | 255 | #155 | — | — |
| 1892 | 278 | #147 | — | — |
| 1891 | 221 | #152 | — | — |
| 1890 | 241 | #147 | — | — |
| 1889 | 246 | #140 | — | — |
| 1888 | 253 | #135 | — | — |
| 1887 | 204 | #132 | — | — |
| 1886 | 207 | #133 | — | — |
| 1885 | 195 | #129 | — | — |
| 1884 | 193 | #128 | — | — |
| 1883 | 135 | #142 | — | — |
| 1882 | 130 | #138 | — | — |
| 1881 | 130 | #124 | — | — |
| 1880 | 127 | #128 | — | — |
About the data: counts are Social Security card applications for US births, for names given to at least five babies of a sex in a year (SSA, names.zip, public domain). Ranks follow SSA’s own order: most births first, ties alphabetical. Files retrieved 2026-10-05 (checksum on our sources page).