Head to head · Boys' names
Barrett vs Bryson
#171 vs #152 in 2025
Bryson is a whisker ahead (#152 vs #171 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Bryson is stepping back from its peak, Barrett is holding its place on the charts. On momentum, Barrett has the edge.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
On the charts, Bryson leads 4 measures of 6; Barrett leads 2.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1880s: Barrett #919, Bryson — — Barrett higher
- 1900s: Barrett #1200, Bryson — — Barrett higher
- 1910s: Barrett #2316, Bryson #3047 — Barrett higher
- 1920s: Barrett #2097, Bryson #2937 — Barrett higher
- 1930s: Barrett #1579, Bryson #2531 — Barrett higher
- 1940s: Barrett #1141, Bryson #2313 — Barrett higher
- 1950s: Barrett #989, Bryson #2523 — Barrett higher
- 1960s: Barrett #810, Bryson #2292 — Barrett higher
- 1970s: Barrett #699, Bryson #1393 — Barrett higher
- 1980s: Barrett #606, Bryson #616 — Barrett higher
- 1990s: Barrett #862, Bryson #423 — Bryson higher
- 2000s: Barrett #773, Bryson #204 — Bryson higher
- 2010s: Barrett #329, Bryson #104 — Bryson higher
- 2020s: Barrett #193, Bryson #137 — Bryson higher
Barrett stood higher in 10 of 14 decades; Bryson has held the lead since the 1990s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Barrett | Bryson |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #919 | — |
| 1900s | #1200 | — |
| 1910s | #2316 | #3047 |
| 1920s | #2097 | #2937 |
| 1930s | #1579 | #2531 |
| 1940s | #1141 | #2313 |
| 1950s | #989 | #2523 |
| 1960s | #810 | #2292 |
| 1970s | #699 | #1393 |
| 1980s | #606 | #616 |
| 1990s | #862 | #423 |
| 2000s | #773 | #204 |
| 2010s | #329 | #104 |
| 2020s | #193 | #137 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Barrett
most likely 'strife, quarrel, deception'
The main reading traces it to Middle English and Old French 'barat', meaning trouble, contention or trickery — a nickname for an argumentative person. Two other explanations compete: a worn-down English form of the Germanic name Bernard ('bear' plus 'brave, hardy'), and a Middle English word for a cap or beret, applied to someone who wore or made one. Surname scholars have never fully settled between them.
barat (Old French: trouble, deception) → Barat / Baret (Middle English byname) → Barrett (English and Hiberno-Norman surname) → Barrett (given name)
How it traveled
Barrett is an English and Hiberno-Norman surname first, recorded in medieval England and carried to Ireland by Norman settler families who put down deep roots in Cork and Mayo, where the name became Bairéad in Irish. Like Bennett, Everett and Garrett, it belongs to a group of surnames built on the same clipped two-syllable pattern, and like them it slid into use as a given name once English-speaking families began naming sons after mothers' maiden names and family lines.
Bryson
Son of Brice
The surname reading is straightforward. What Brice itself meant is not established — it comes into medieval Latin as Bricius, and its earlier root, possibly Gaulish, has never been pinned down. So the name has a clear meaning that opens onto an unsolved one.
Bricius → Brice → Bryson
How it traveled
Bryson is an English and Scottish patronymic surname: Brice's son. The personal name behind it, Brice or Bricius, spread through medieval Europe partly through the cult of the fifth-century bishop of Tours who bore it, and it stayed in use in Britain and France for centuries.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Barrett
BAIR-it
Stress on the first syllable. Rhymes with 'carrot' and 'parrot' in most American accents. The spelling gives the sound away, so it rarely needs repeating.
- Barry — The obvious short form, and a long-established given name in its own right — strongly represented among older generations.
- Bear — A family nickname drawn from the sound of the first syllable; informal, used at home rather than on paperwork.
- Rhett — Occasionally pulled from the second syllable; also stands alone as a given name.
- B — Initial-only, the way many surname-names get shortened among friends.
Bryson
BRY-sun
Two syllables, stress on the first, rhyming with "nice" plus "son." American English speakers read it correctly on sight; the only occasional question is spelling, not sound.
- Bry — The standard informal short form, used by family and friends.
- Bryce — Sometimes used as a nickname, though it is far more often an independent given name in its own right.
- B — Casual, initial-based, common among schoolmates and teammates.
Who has carried each name
Barrett
No documented entry for Barrett yet.
Bryson
Bryson Tiller (b. 1993) — Platinum R&B artist
Source: Wikidata — the one source on this page that is not an official agency.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Barrett if you want…
- a name fewer children share#171 in 2025 — barrett will almost certainly be the only one in school
- a name on the way upup 22 places on the charts in five years
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 40% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 68% for Bryson
Choose Bryson if you want…
- a name most people already know#152 in 2025, 2,416 babies that year
- a name past its most crowded yearsBryson is stepping back from its peak
- a name that feels very nowBryson is stepping back from its peak
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Barrett
Strengths
- The spelling is already familiar to Americans as a surname, so it is written correctly by most people on the first try.
- Pronunciation is unambiguous from the page — two syllables, stress in front, no regional variants to correct.
- It has an established short form in Barry, plus room for informal ones, without requiring any of them.
To consider
- The leading reading of the meaning is 'strife' or 'trickery' — medieval bynames were often unkind. If a flattering meaning matters to you, this one will need the Bernard reading or none at all.
- The single-r Barret exists, so expect an occasional correction, and Barrett is also heard as a surname first — some people will assume it is the last name on a form.
- Its growth is recent enough that almost everyone carrying it now is young. That means little company in a classroom, but also that the name currently reads as contemporary rather than inherited.
Bryson
Strengths
- Reads correctly at first sight for English speakers — the -son ending is already familiar from surnames used as first names.
- A documented surname origin with a clear meaning: son of Brice.
- Present on American records since the early twentieth century, so it has a real history behind its recent rise.
To consider
- It sits close to several names in current use — Bryce, Brayden, Grayson, Tyson — so mishearings and momentary mix-ups in a classroom or on a roster are likely.
- Spellings like Brysen and Bricen exist, so expect to confirm which one you mean when it is written down.
- Its wave is very recent, which means most people carrying it now are children rather than adults. If you want a name that reads as clearly of no particular era, this one is fairly firmly stamped with its own.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Barrett
40%chance Barrett feels dated by 2040
Barrett sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
Bryson
68%chance Bryson feels dated by 2040
Bryson is coming down from a big peak (#86 in 2017). This is the stretch of the cycle where a name starts to sound like the decade it ruled.
A reading of where each name sits on the long naming cycle — computed, not measured, and explained on the data page.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Barrett and Bryson in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Barrett and Bryson?
Put both to the vote.
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More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists that carry both names
Every list here names both Barrett and Bryson — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Barrett or Bryson — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Barrett or Bryson?
- Bryson, in 2025: Bryson ranked #152 with 2,416 babies; Barrett ranked #171 with 2,138 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Barrett or Bryson?
- Barrett. Over the last five years Barrett moved up 22 places; Bryson moved down 37 places.
- Which is the older name, Barrett or Bryson?
- Barrett entered the US charts in 1886; Bryson entered the US charts in 1914. On the American record, Barrett is the older name.
- How many people are named Barrett and Bryson?
- About 32,000 people named Barrett are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 82,000 people named Bryson are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Barretts or Brysons in the classroom?
- Barrett will almost certainly be the only one in school. Bryson will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
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