Girls' name · peaked in 1938

Barbara name popularity since 1925

1,375,536 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Barbara. Half of them were born in 1947 or earlier, so the typical Barbara is about 79 years old in 2026. Barbara peaked in 1938 as the #2 name for girls, and it ranked #968 in 2025.

US babies since 1925: 1,375,536; Named Barbara, 1925–2025
Peak year: 1938; #2 for girls that year
Typical age: About 79; Median birth year 1947
In 2025: #968; for girls in 2025 (264 babies)
Girls / boys: 99.7% girls; 1,371,484 girls · 4,052 boys
Most popular in: District of Columbia; 1.73× its national share

Peak year is the year Barbara made up the largest share of US girls, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.

Barbara births per year, 1925–2025

The biggest year by count was 1947. Measured as a share of all babies, Barbara peaked in 1938.

Fastest rise: Between 1927 and 1932, Barbara became 2.2× more common.
Steepest fall: Between 1967 and 1972, its share of baby girls fell by 51%, from 1 in 147 to 1 in 299.

Shaded on the chart. Both compare Barbara's share of all US girls five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Barbara.

Decade by decade

Babies named Barbara in each decade, and its rank among girls' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).

Decade	Girls	Boys	Rank
1925–29	64,305	209	–
1930s	296,420	1,188	#3
1940s	425,271	1,158	#3
1950s	345,722	693	#7
1960s	159,773	503	#25
1970s	42,237	162	#83
1980s	19,139	113	#169
1990s	8,859	26	#347
2000s	4,730	0	#674
2010s	3,263	0	#850
2020–25	1,765	0	#968

Ranks count every name given to at least 5 girls that year, so they can go past 1,000.

Generation fingerprint

46.0% of babies named Barbara from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Baby Boom years (1946–1964). The full split by generation:

Where Barbara is most popular

The index compares Barbara's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Barbara.

State	Index	Babies
District of Columbia	1.73×	11,077
Rhode Island	1.59×	7,836
West Virginia	1.52×	18,512
Vermont	1.41×	3,253
Pennsylvania	1.40×	98,835

Names with a similar story

Of the other 499 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Barbara's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Barbara.

Names from the same era

Other common names that peaked within two years of Barbara (1938).

Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data