Head to head · Boys' names
Barrett vs Matias
#171 vs #170 in 2025
Matias is a whisker ahead (#170 vs #171 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Matias is climbing the charts fast, Barrett is holding its place on the charts.
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, Matias 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, Matias — — Barrett higher
- 1900s: Barrett #1200, Matias #1275 — Barrett higher
- 1910s: Barrett #2316, Matias #1862 — Matias higher
- 1920s: Barrett #2097, Matias #1898 — Matias higher
- 1930s: Barrett #1579, Matias #1973 — Barrett higher
- 1940s: Barrett #1141, Matias #1642 — Barrett higher
- 1950s: Barrett #989, Matias #2057 — Barrett higher
- 1960s: Barrett #810, Matias #2011 — Barrett higher
- 1970s: Barrett #699, Matias #2029 — Barrett higher
- 1980s: Barrett #606, Matias #1802 — Barrett higher
- 1990s: Barrett #862, Matias #1466 — Barrett higher
- 2000s: Barrett #773, Matias #945 — Barrett higher
- 2010s: Barrett #329, Matias #440 — Barrett higher
- 2020s: Barrett #193, Matias #188 — Matias higher
Barrett stood higher in 11 of 14 decades; Matias took the 2020s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Barrett | Matias |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #919 | — |
| 1900s | #1200 | #1275 |
| 1910s | #2316 | #1862 |
| 1920s | #2097 | #1898 |
| 1930s | #1579 | #1973 |
| 1940s | #1141 | #1642 |
| 1950s | #989 | #2057 |
| 1960s | #810 | #2011 |
| 1970s | #699 | #2029 |
| 1980s | #606 | #1802 |
| 1990s | #862 | #1466 |
| 2000s | #773 | #945 |
| 2010s | #329 | #440 |
| 2020s | #193 | #188 |
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.
Matias
Gift of Yahweh — gift of God
From Hebrew Mattityahu, built from mattan, 'gift', and the divine name. Matthew comes from the same Hebrew root by a slightly different road, which is why the two names are cousins rather than variants.
Mattityahu → Matthias → Mathias → Matías → Matias
How it traveled
The Hebrew name Mattityahu was rendered as Matthias by the Greek translators who shaped the New Testament, where it belongs to the apostle chosen by lot to replace Judas among the twelve. Latin kept it as Mathias, and from there it spread through Christian Europe, losing its 'h' in the Iberian languages and gaining a written accent in Spanish: Matías.
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.
Matias
mah-TEE-ahs
Spanish and Portuguese stress the middle syllable, which is how it is most often said in the US. Finnish speakers stress the first: MAH-tee-ahs. Both are correct for their own tradition, so it is worth deciding early which one your family will use.
- Mati — The standard informal short form in Spanish-speaking families; used at home and among friends rather than on documents.
- Matt — The English-language default, shared with Matthew and Matteo; useful at school, less distinctive.
- Tias — Heard in Nordic use, taken from the end of the name rather than the beginning.
- Matu — An affectionate form in parts of Latin America, mostly used by family.
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 holding steadyBarrett is holding its place on the charts
Choose Matias if you want…
- a name on the way upup 46 places on the charts in five years
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.
Matias
Strengths
- Works unchanged across Spanish, Portuguese and Finnish, so it crosses borders and family lines without needing a translation or a second spelling.
- Has established short forms in more than one language — Mati, Matt, Tias — rather than depending on a nickname you would have to invent.
- Nearly two thousand years of continuous written record behind it, from Greek scripture through Latin Europe to the present.
To consider
- The Spanish spelling is Matías, with an accent that US forms and databases routinely drop. Families who care about keeping it will spend some time correcting paperwork; families who don't will find the plain spelling perfectly settled here.
- It sits close to Mateo, Matteo, Mathias and Matthew, all of which are in active use. Expect a certain amount of being called the wrong one of the five, especially in a classroom.
- Stress placement genuinely differs between the Spanish and Finnish traditions, so a Matias with roots in both may hear his own name two ways at family gatherings.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
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 Matias in full.
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Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
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More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists these names appear on
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- Names at their all-time peak, right now
- Seven-letter names, ranked by real use
- Names with a double letter
- all guides
Where Barrett and Matias each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Barrett or Matias — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Barrett or Matias?
- Matias, in 2025: Matias ranked #170 with 2,140 babies; Barrett ranked #171 with 2,138 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Barrett or Matias?
- Matias. Over the last five years Barrett moved up 22 places; Matias moved up 46 places.
- Which is the older name, Barrett or Matias?
- Barrett entered the US charts in 1886; Matias entered the US charts in 1904. On the American record, Barrett is the older name.
- How many people are named Barrett and Matias?
- About 32,000 people named Barrett are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 24,500 people named Matias are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Barretts or Matiass in the classroom?
- Barrett will almost certainly be the only one in school. Matias 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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