Barbara Name Popularity

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How popular is Barbara?

The less frequently given name Barbara was the 930th Most Popular Girls Name in the United States in 2018.

This top 1000 contender has enjoyed a rank in the top 1000 since 1880, when the Social Security Administration began keeping records.

It reached its highest popularity RANKING of #2 for the first time in 1937 and as recently as 1944.

Nonetheless, the name was given to the greatest number of children in 1947 with 48,792 occurrences.

In any year, the least number of babies named Barbara was 127 in 1880.

Approximately during the years 1885-1888, 1904-1907, and 1908-1938, the name Barbara took a definitive turn upwards in popularity whereas unequivocal downward movement occurred about 1948-1978, 1980-1986, and 1987-1996.

Where is the name Barbara popularity headed?

Currently, the name is at an extremely low point when compared to its most popular year.

Barbara's popularity has steadily decreased for some time. Of late however, the number of parents selecting the name Barbara for their newborn has remained about the same.

The name Barbara is used by only a select few and has recently started to plateu at its present level but may also begin to make a more decisive move up or down.

Relative to what it once was, Barbara is very rarely used as a given name.

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for Percentages.

		Barbara (Girl)		Barbara (Boy)
Year	%	No. of Babies Given Name	Popul. Rank	No. of Babies Given Name	Popul. Rank
2018		285	930	< 5	--
2017		296	902	< 5	--
2016		328	855	< 5	--
2015		324	860	< 5	--
2014		321	856	< 5	--
2013		315	835	< 5	--
2012		295	893	< 5	--
2011		365	754	< 5	--
2010		406	701	< 5	--
2009		459	644	< 5	--
2008		395	749	< 5	--
2007		476	627	< 5	--
2006		543	544	< 5	--
2005		400	691	< 5	--
2004		427	638	< 5	--
2003		431	622	< 5	--
2002		494	552	< 5	--
2001		490	542	< 5	--
2000		526	507	< 5	--
1999		556	471	< 5	--
1998		572	449	< 5	--
1997		694	381	< 5	--
1996		679	389	< 5	--
1995		753	348	< 5	--
1994		871	312	< 5	--
1993		950	291	5	8,818
1992		1,125	247	7	6,729
1991		1,239	229	9	5,553
1990		1,388	207	5	8,222
1989		1,494	186	10	4,842
1988		1,504	185	9	4,815
1987		1,632	172	9	4,596
1986		1,487	181	8	4,883
1985		1,675	169	11	3,822
1984		1,865	152	18	2,620
1983		2,019	143	9	4,156
1982		2,346	130	11	3,705
1981		2,530	119	13	3,235
1980		2,577	120	13	3,274
1979		2,491	123	15	2,915
1978		2,581	113	8	4,183
1977		2,843	101	17	2,564
1976		2,972	97	9	3,744
1975		3,453	83	18	2,371
1974		3,905	77	12	2,962
1973		4,437	63	11	3,033
1972		5,080	58	22	1,933
1971		6,451	47	27	1,710
1970		8,026	41	24	1,802
1969		8,808	39	31	1,438
1968		9,744	36	34	1,315
1967		11,204	33	43	1,134
1966		13,123	27	45	1,102
1965		14,026	25	42	1,161
1964		16,479	19	49	1,082
1963		18,291	17	64	936
1962		20,640	14	76	869
1961		22,992	12	56	1,043
1960		24,445	12	64	944
1959		25,356	11	67	940
1958		27,875	9	59	991
1957		29,687	9	68	919
1956		32,298	9	76	860
1955		33,605	7	80	816
1954		36,370	7	57	984
1953		38,472	6	72	847
1952		39,865	6	74	813
1951		40,620	5	70	838
1950		41,552	4	70	814
1949		42,601	4	67	836
1948		46,826	3	76	782
1947		48,792	4	89	727
1946		45,122	4	109	615
1945		38,276	3	87	649
1944		39,197	2	121	549
1943		43,429	2	150	506
1942		44,734	2	164	478
1941		39,538	2	155	473
1940		36,734	2	140	489
1939		37,258	2	150	468
1938		39,279	2	162	454
1937		34,912	2	144	468
1936		31,682	3	110	547
1935		30,696	3	124	517
1934		29,234	3	118	543
1933		26,951	3	119	519
1932		26,314	3	103	583
1931		21,797	4	84	649
1930		18,281	6	74	738
1929		16,037	7	63	816
1928		14,873	8	44	1,042
1927		13,161	10	41	1,113
1926		11,080	16	35	1,222
1925		9,155	22	26	1,452
1924		8,306	28	12	2,483
1923		7,208	33	10	2,782
1922		6,273	40	10	2,815
1921		6,014	40	11	2,647
1920		5,106	47	9	2,983
1919		4,084	60	7	3,425
1918		4,224	60	7	3,394
1917		3,535	67	6	3,586
1916		3,112	74	5	3,948
1915		2,704	83	< 5	--
1914		2,061	82	< 5	--
1913		1,451	94	7	2,293
1912		1,184	102	< 5	--
1911		737	119	< 5	--
1910		612	136	< 5	--
1909		567	126	< 5	--
1908		514	135	< 5	--
1907		515	129	< 5	--
1906		413	142	< 5	--
1905		366	154	< 5	--
1904		357	151	< 5	--
1903		346	151	< 5	--
1902		306	163	< 5	--
1901		277	164	< 5	--
1900		340	162	< 5	--
1899		273	165	< 5	--
1898		304	164	< 5	--
1897		299	153	< 5	--
1896		324	145	< 5	--
1895		298	150	< 5	--
1894		290	151	< 5	--
1893		255	155	< 5	--
1892		278	147	< 5	--
1891		221	152	< 5	--
1890		241	147	< 5	--
1889		246	140	< 5	--
1888		253	135	< 5	--
1887		204	132	< 5	--
1886		207	133	< 5	--
1885		195	129	< 5	--
1884		193	128	< 5	--
1883		135	142	< 5	--
1882		130	138	< 5	--
1881		130	124	< 5	--
1880		127	128	< 5	--

United States name popularity data is provided by the Social Security Administration and is based on Social Security card applications.

Data for a given year is not made available until well into the next year.

Data reflects what was recorded and has not been edited for errors, so for example the gender associated with a name may be incorrect.

The more babies that are given a particular name, the higher the popularity ranking. If multiple names have the same usage, the tie is broken by assigning popularity rank in alphabetical order. Therefore in the case of names with fewer occurrences, names with the same number of occurrences may have vastly different rankings because they will be interranked alphabetically.

To safeguard privacy, the SSA does not include names with less than 5 occurrences.

Please note, we update the data each May when the SSA releases new figures. All data changes at that time, including previous years, which will change minutely based on new information.