Fun Facts About the Name Barrington
- More than 1 thousand babies named Barrington: U.S. records list 1,280 babies given the name Barrington from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Barrington Mean?
Barrington means "the settlement of Bæra's people" and comes from Old English. It is built from three parts: an Old English personal name, Bæra (also written Bara); the suffix -ing-, meaning "the people of" or "belonging to"; and tūn, meaning an enclosed settlement, farm, or village. The literal sense is "the tūn of Bæra's people," a place where a group identified with one man settled.
Used as a first name, Barrington is a transferred use of the surname rather than a name with its own separate etymology, and it carries the surname's meaning. The English villages that share the name - Barrington in Somerset, Barrington in Cambridgeshire, and Great and Little Barrington in Gloucestershire - each formed separately, and the personal name at the root of an individual village is not always certain. Barrington is not related to Barton despite the similar sound; Barton comes from Old English bere-tūn, "barley farm."
Barrington Name History & Origins
Barrington began as an English place name. In the Old English period a settlement could be named for a man and the group tied to him: a personal name plus -ing- ("the people of") plus tūn ("settlement"). The villages of Barrington in Somerset, Barrington in Cambridgeshire, and Great and Little Barrington in Gloucestershire carry the name, each likely formed on its own from these elements.
The surname Barrington grew out of one or more of these places during the Middle Ages, following the general English pattern in which a family took the name of the village it came from. In England it is recorded in several counties, including Essex, where the Barrington family held a baronetcy and later a viscountcy in the peerage; the Viscount Barrington title dates from the 18th century.
As a first name, Barrington is a transferred surname, the English practice of using family names as given names. It is uncommon as a given name in English-speaking countries and is often found as a middle name. The name also spread as a place name outside England: the town of Barrington, Rhode Island, and the village of Barrington, Illinois, are among the communities that borrowed it.
How Popular is the Name Barrington?
Barrington 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 1991. Its best rank was #1,725 in 1984.
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 | #7,254 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2024 | #8,364 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2022 | #6,872 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 2021 | #6,061 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 2020 | #7,090 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2019 | #7,232 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2018 | #7,683 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 2017 | #5,833 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 2016 | #5,583 | 16 | 0.0008% |
| 2015 | #6,369 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 2014 | #6,678 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 2013 | #5,425 | 16 | 0.0008% |
| 2012 | #7,610 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 2011 | #7,062 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2010 | #4,859 | 19 | 0.0010% |
| 2009 | #5,123 | 18 | 0.0009% |
| 2008 | #6,434 | 13 | 0.0006% |
| 2007 | #5,940 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 2006 | #5,331 | 16 | 0.0008% |
| 2005 | #6,260 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 2004 | #5,272 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 2003 | #5,297 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 2002 | #4,338 | 18 | 0.0009% |
| 2001 | #4,500 | 17 | 0.0009% |
| 2000 | #4,219 | 18 | 0.0009% |
| 1999 | #3,853 | 19 | 0.0010% |
| 1998 | #2,794 | 29 | 0.0015% |
| 1997 | #2,990 | 25 | 0.0013% |
| 1996 | #3,305 | 21 | 0.0011% |
| 1995 | #2,299 | 34 | 0.0018% |
| 1994 | #2,352 | 33 | 0.0017% |
| 1993 | #2,408 | 31 | 0.0016% |
| 1992 | #2,844 | 24 | 0.0012% |
| 1991 | #1,828 | 43 | 0.0021% |
| 1990 | #2,261 | 31 | 0.0015% |
| 1989 | #2,159 | 32 | 0.0016% |
| 1988 | #1,909 | 34 | 0.0018% |
| 1987 | #2,023 | 30 | 0.0016% |
| 1986 | #1,795 | 34 | 0.0018% |
| 1985 | #2,608 | 19 | 0.0010% |
| 1984 | #1,725 | 33 | 0.0018% |
| 1983 | #2,279 | 22 | 0.0012% |
| 1982 | #3,708 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1981 | #2,274 | 22 | 0.0012% |
| 1980 | #2,116 | 25 | 0.0014% |
| 1979 | #3,374 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 1978 | #2,207 | 21 | 0.0013% |
| 1977 | #3,219 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 1976 | #2,614 | 16 | 0.0010% |
| 1975 | #3,089 | 12 | 0.0008% |
| 1974 | #3,145 | 11 | 0.0007% |
| 1973 | #4,554 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1972 | #3,177 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1971 | #2,987 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1970 | #3,548 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1969 | #2,427 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 1968 | #2,925 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1967 | #3,258 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1966 | #3,006 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1965 | #2,378 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 1964 | #3,067 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1963 | #3,067 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1962 | #2,201 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 1961 | #2,151 | 15 | 0.0007% |
| 1960 | #2,216 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 1959 | #2,674 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1958 | #2,519 | 11 | 0.0005% |
| 1957 | #3,594 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1956 | #2,373 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 1955 | #2,580 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1953 | #2,294 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 1952 | #3,398 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1950 | #2,788 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1948 | #2,123 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 1947 | #3,110 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1946 | #2,039 | 13 | 0.0008% |
| 1943 | #3,251 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1942 | #2,725 | 8 | 0.0006% |
| 1939 | #3,140 | 6 | 0.0005% |
| 1937 | #3,565 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1933 | #3,305 | 6 | 0.0006% |
| 1932 | #2,332 | 11 | 0.0011% |
| 1928 | #3,739 | 6 | 0.0005% |
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 Barrington 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 always looking for a chance to do your own thing, to be your own person, and to have things done your own way.
✦ Barrington's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Barrington's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.