Bari
Feminine
Bari is given to both — 1,806 girls and 158 boys since 1880. See other names given to both
The likeliest explanation is Barbara cut at the first syllable and given a new ending. That is an unusual place to cut — most short forms take the whole of the first syllable and a consonant with it — and the result is two open syllables where the original had three closed ones.
How old is the name Bari?
Bari first appears in US birth records in 1937 — 88 years ago. The typical Bari alive today was born around 1966, making them about 59 years old. About 1,600 people named Bari are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Bari most popular?
Bari peaked in 1960, reaching #1236 nationally. See the whole 1960 chart.
Where it comes from
From Barbara to Bari
The story of Bari
It belongs to a set of short forms that took the i ending in the middle of the last century. Teri, Geri, Cari, Kari, Jeri and Bari all appear in the same decades, all built the same way — a short form of a longer name closed with an i rather than a y or an ie — and the choice of that letter was doing something specific. A y reads as informal and an ie as affectionate; an i reads as neither, which is exactly what a woman who wanted her short form to be her name rather than her nickname would have been after.
Meaningnot established
Not established
The parent cannot be identified with confidence. Barbara is the likeliest and several other names produce the same sound, so nothing translatable can be reported.
How the name formed
- Barbara
- Bari
Pronouncing Bari
BARR-ee
Two syllables with the stress at the front, said identically to the Irish man's name Barry. Nothing distinguishes them in speech.
Nicknames for Bari
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1937
- Most girls named
- 196078 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1236reached in 1960
- Change vs 2023
- +16.7%7 in 2024, from 6
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Baris among us
people named Bari are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Bari sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- It is short, brisk and completely easy on first hearing.
- The i ending reads as a full name rather than as a nickname.
- It works across the sexes without straining for it.
- It is said identically to a common man's name and will be confused with it.
- The spelling is recorded for a few boys, but nearly every child with it is a girl.
- No meaning can be given, because the parent cannot be identified.
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Bari
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Baris are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,600 people named Bari are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Bari in 2025?
- Bari is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Bari with classmates?
- Bari will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More B names
The most-given names starting with B, all years combined.
Barbara#968 · Betty#1113 · Brenda#1525 · Beverly#1016 · Brittany#928 · Bonnie#396 · Brianna#222 · Bertha#4546
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Bari? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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