Fun Facts About the Name Barnes
- 195 babies named Barnes: U.S. records list 195 babies given the name Barnes from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Barnes Mean?
Barnes is an English surname used as a given name. Its most established meaning is dweller by the barn or barn worker, from Middle English barn, meaning a barn or storehouse. That word goes back to Old English bere-ærn, literally barley house, a compound of bere barley and ærn house or building. In this literal sense, the name describes a person identified by a barn, either because he lived near one or worked in one. A competing, less certain explanation treats Barnes as a patronymic from the medieval personal name Barn, a short form of Barnabas or another name beginning with Barn-, with the final -s meaning son of. The surname can also be habitational, from the place-name Barnes in Surrey, which likely comes from the same barn word.
Barnes Name History & Origins
The surname Barnes developed from Middle English barn, the everyday word for a barn, which had replaced the older Old English compound bere-ærn. A person who lived by or worked in such a building could be called by the word, and the byname became hereditary. The ending -s in Barnes can be read as a possessive or plural ending, giving a sense like at the barns or, in the patronymic explanation, son of Barn. The place-name Barnes in Surrey, recorded in the Domesday Book as Berne, probably shares the same barn origin, and the surname may also have been taken by people from that place. As a first name, Barnes is a transferred surname rather than an inherited Old English given name; it follows the long English practice of using family names as given names.
How Popular is the Name Barnes?
Barnes has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 2023. Its best rank was #2,418 in 1943.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #9,016 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 2023 | #7,339 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2022 | #12,579 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2021 | #8,252 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2020 | #12,238 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2019 | #7,712 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 2018 | #12,378 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2017 | #10,936 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2016 | #12,410 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2015 | #8,839 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 2013 | #12,355 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2012 | #10,939 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2009 | #12,697 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1957 | #3,591 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1952 | #3,784 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1948 | #3,344 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1944 | #3,465 | 5 | 0.0004% |
| 1943 | #2,418 | 10 | 0.0007% |
| 1939 | #3,523 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1932 | #3,397 | 6 | 0.0006% |
| 1931 | #3,113 | 7 | 0.0007% |
| 1929 | #3,260 | 7 | 0.0007% |
| 1927 | #3,810 | 6 | 0.0005% |
| 1923 | #2,783 | 10 | 0.0009% |
| 1921 | #3,236 | 8 | 0.0007% |
| 1920 | #3,233 | 8 | 0.0008% |
| 1916 | #3,949 | 5 | 0.0006% |
| 1914 | #2,470 | 8 | 0.0012% |
| 1913 | #2,858 | 5 | 0.0010% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Barnes Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You can go to great heights and equally great depths. You are emotional and fixed in your opinions. You are hospitable, sentimental, often psychic, sometimes moody. You are ruled by love and the lack of it and feel a need to be encouraged and appreciated. You are bold, independent, inquisitive and interested in research. You know what you want and why you want it.
You are seeking freedom, opportunities to enjoy life: to make love, to go places and to do things. You are very adventurous and willing to take risk to achieve your objectives. New ways and new experiences can't satisfy your restless nature. One adventure leads you to another. You are honest and fair, because you know that this is the only way to receive justice and honesty from other people. But your personal growth is vital for you, and it is difficult to be tied down by rules and obligations. Your restless spirit might best controlled by choosing the field of work that meet your demand for action and adventure.
✦ Barnes's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Barnes's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.