Barrett
Feminine
Barrett is given to boys far more often — 33,425 boys against 992 girls since 1880. See Barrett as a boy name
Barrett is an English and Irish surname whose leading explanation is unusually unflattering: an Old French word that covered trading, haggling and outright trickery without distinguishing much between them.
How old is the name Barrett?
Barrett first appears in US birth records in 1965 — 60 years ago. The typical Barrett alive today was born around 2008, making them about 17 years old. About 1,000 people named Barrett are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Barrett most popular?
Barrett peaked in 2025, reaching #3712 nationally. Today it ranks #3712, exactly where it peaked. See the whole 2025 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Barrett
Ours, offered as ours. Barat is a revealing word: medieval French used it for commerce and for cheating with the same breath, which tells you something about how trade was regarded. A man called Barat was a dealer, and the line between dealing and sharp practice was not one his neighbors drew firmly. Whether the surname really comes from there is argued; the alternatives are a bear and an Irish family, and both are duller.
Meaningnot established
Not established
No settled derivation. The most-cited reading takes the surname from Old French barat — trade, bargaining and by extension deception. A Germanic element bar, a bear, and an Irish family name Bairéad have also been proposed and none is established.
Pronouncing Barrett
BAIR-et
Two syllables, first stressed. There is no variation.
Nicknames for Barrett
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
- 1965
- Most girls named
- 202540 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #3712reached in 2025
- Change vs 2024
- +42.9%40 in 2025, from 28
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.
Barrett in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Bairéad in Irish — related form
- Barret in English — spelling variant
Strongest US states over the last decade: North Carolina, California, Texas.
Barretts among us
people named Barrett are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 40,182 born in 2025 was named Barrett
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Felissa test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Barrett's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Felissa climbed just as high around 1970, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Felissa's path sketches the road Barrett is walking now.
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.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Barrett is headed
Barrett should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Barrett beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Barrett in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Read correctly on sight by every English speaker.
- Bear and Etta are both usable short forms with quite different characters.
- It works for a girl or a boy, which is useful before a birth.
- It is read as a boy's name by default, and she will correct that often.
- It reads as a surname to people meeting it in front of another one.
- There is no documented meaning, and the likeliest candidate is not flattering.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive
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Barrett
Feminine · #3712 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Barretts are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,000 people named Barrett are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Barrett in 2025?
- Barrett ranks #3712 among US girl names in 2025, with 40 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Barrett?
- About 1 in every 40,182 US girls born in 2025 was named Barrett — 40 in all.
- Will my child share the name Barrett with classmates?
- Barrett will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Barrett
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Monet#3712 · October#3712 · Aubrianna#3712 · Mishka#3712 · Berkleigh#3712 · Zailey#3712 · Zaiya#3712 · Ora#3712
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Barrett? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Barrett and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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