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Barney

Barney: name meaning, origin & popularity

Meaning
“son of consolation”
Origin
Aramaic
Say it
BAR-nee · 2 syllables
Used for
Boys

Usually a diminutive of Barnabas or Bernard. As a form of Barnabas, it goes back through Greek to Aramaic bar nebu'ah, traditionally understood as 'son of consolation' in New Testament usage.

English namesNames meaning hopeVintage namesShort names

How popular is Barney?

20242.1 per million US babies
1880192019602000
Drag the line or the slider to read any year. Values are per million US births recorded by Social Security. Records before about 1937 undercount births, so early peaks can look taller than they were.

Babies named Barney in 20247

Peak year1884

Total US babies since 188016,176

Barney is steady now but far below its 1884 peak.

Names like Barney

Variants, related forms and names with the same roots.

  • Thomastwin · Aramaic
  • Tommytwin · Aramaic
  • Tomastwin · Aramaic
  • Thaddeusheart; courageous · Aramaic
  • Tomtwin · Aramaic
  • Thadheart; courageous · Aramaic
  • Bartson of furrows · Aramaic

Barney questions

What does the name Barney mean?

Barney means "son of consolation". It comes from Aramaic. Usually a diminutive of Barnabas or Bernard. As a form of Barnabas, it goes back through Greek to Aramaic bar nebu'ah, traditionally understood as 'son of consolation' in New Testament usage.

Is Barney a boy or girl name?

Barney is mainly a boy's name in US records (99% of uses since 1880).

How popular is Barney?

7 US babies were named Barney in 2024. Its peak year was 1884.

How do you pronounce Barney?

Barney is usually pronounced BAR-nee.

Birth counts: US Social Security Administration national data, 1880–2024 (names given to 5+ babies of a sex in a year). How we write meanings.