UK boy's name
Barnaby
Son of consolation or prophecy; possibly derived from Hebrew.
For 2026, the newest official UK baby-name figures on this page are from 2024. That release is the current official benchmark rather than a forecast.
Barnaby is a boy's name in the UK records. People looking for Barnaby popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2024 in this profile. In that release it ranked #195, with 254 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2014, with 285 births.
This profile covers 5,284 England and Wales registrations across 29 recorded years from 1996 to 2024. The figures come from ONS England and Wales and NRS Scotland, so the page is a view of published baby-name registrations rather than a forecast or a live count of people using the name today.
The latest count is about 89% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.
We estimate that about 5,281 living people in the UK are called Barnaby. This uses published birth registrations from England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, then applies ONS national life tables to estimate how many are likely still alive. It does not forecast extra births for 2025 or 2026.
Key insights
- • Barnaby ranked #195 for boys in England and Wales in 2024, with 254 registrations.
- • The name peaked in 2014, when 285 boys were registered as Barnaby.
- • Barnaby ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #727 in 2024.
- • About 5,281 living people in the UK are estimated to have Barnaby as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.
Latest rank (E&W)
#195
2024
Births in 2024
254
Latest year
Peak year
2014
285 births
Estimated living
5,281
2026
Meaning
What does Barnaby mean?
The name Barnaby is derived from the Hebrew name Barnabas, which means "son of consolation" or "son of encouragement". It originated in the 1st century AD and is mentioned in the New Testament of the Bible as the name of a Christian disciple and missionary companion of Paul.
The name Barnabas was a common name among early Christians, and it eventually evolved into the English form Barnaby. The earliest recorded use of the name Barnaby dates back to the 12th century in England.
One of the most famous bearers of the name Barnaby was Saint Barnabas, who was born in Cyprus in the 1st century AD. He is venerated as one of the earliest Christian disciples and is remembered for his missionary work with Paul.
In the 16th century, Barnaby Googe (1540-1594) was an English poet and translator who is known for his translations of works by Ovid and Marcantonio Palmieri. His most famous work is the poem "Eclogues, Epitaphs, and Sonnets" published in 1563.
Barnaby Rudge (1628-1692) was an English silversmith and republican who is best known for his involvement in the Popish Plot, a fabricated Catholic conspiracy to assassinate King Charles II.
Barnaby Rich (1542-1617) was an English writer and soldier who served as a soldier in the Netherlands and wrote several popular works, including "The Adventures of Brusanus, Prince of Hungaria" and "Faultes, Faults, and Nothing Else but Faultes".
Barnaby Lenon (1951-) is a British educator and academic who served as the headmaster of Harrow School, one of the most prestigious schools in England, from 1999 to 2011.
Sourced from namecensus.com.
Popularity
Barnaby over time
The chart below shows babies named Barnaby registered in England and Wales in the years where the name appears in the published records, from 1996 to 2024. Empty years are left out so rare names are not stretched across long periods where the published files do not show any registrations.
For Barnaby, the clearest high point is 2014. The latest England and Wales figure is 254 births in 2024, compared with 285 at the peak.
Babies born per year
Decades
Barnaby by decade
Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Barnaby was a short-lived spike or a name that stayed in regular use. Average rank is calculated only from years where a published rank exists.
| Decade | Average rank | Total births | Years covered |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020s | #229 | 1,094 | 5 |
| 2010s | #226 | 2,365 | 10 |
| 2000s | #251 | 1,408 | 10 |
| 1990s | #269 | 417 | 4 |
Geography
Where Barnaby is most common
The bars show the latest published local birth counts for Barnaby. They are useful for spotting where the name is showing up in real numbers, while the rank beside each bar shows how strongly it performs inside that region.
Barnaby ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #727 in 2024.
Across the UK
Barnaby in Scotland and Northern Ireland
Scotland (NRS)
#727 in 2024
11 years of NRS records, 34 total registered
Notable bearers
Famous people named Barnaby
-
Barnaby Archer
timpanist; percussionist
English musician
1987-
-
Barnaby Peter Granville Hodgson
(born 1986)
1986-
-
Barnaby John Nelson
(born 1982)
1982-
-
Barnaby Thomas Garmondsway Wrightson
(born 1979)
1979-
-
Barnaby Barford
sculptor; visual artist; ceramicist; draftsperson
British artist
1977-
-
Barnaby Hosking
visual artist; video artist; video installation artist
1976-
-
Barnaby Teed Hart
(born 1975)
1975-
-
Barnaby Roper-Caldbeck
(born 1974)
1974-
Related
Names similar to Barnaby
- Benjamin 90,412
- Ben 36,356
- Bradley 30,230
- Brandon 26,411
- Billy 18,608
- Bobby 16,904
- Blake 16,337
- Bailey 16,014
- Brody 7,230
- Beau 6,722
- Brodie 4,801
- Bilal 4,114
FAQ
Barnaby: questions and answers
How popular is the name Barnaby in the UK right now?
In 2024, Barnaby was ranked #195 for boys in England and Wales, with 254 births registered.
When was Barnaby most popular?
The peak year on record was 2014, with 285 babies registered as Barnaby in England and Wales.
What is the meaning and origin of Barnaby?
Son of consolation or prophecy; possibly derived from Hebrew.
How many people are called Barnaby in the UK?
A total of 5,284 babies have been registered as Barnaby across the 29 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here, plus 34 more in Scotland.
Where is Barnaby most common?
In the latest published local rankings, Barnaby ranks best in Scotland, where it placed #727 in 2024. The regional bars on this page use birth counts, so they also reflect the size of each region.
Which records is this page based on?
The England and Wales timeline uses ONS baby-name records. Scotland figures come from NRS and Northern Ireland figures come from NISRA. Counts are registrations in published baby-name files. The living estimate uses those birth registrations with ONS national life tables.