Holding steady, #10,695 for boys today.
Popularity of Barkley since 1920
Babies named Barkley per year in U.S. Social Security records.
Data table (by decade)
| Decade | Boys |
|---|---|
| 1920s | 25 |
| 1930s | 18 |
| 1940s | 38 |
| 1950s | 69 |
| 1960s | 27 |
| 1970s | 30 |
| 1980s | 41 |
| 1990s | 38 |
| 2000s | 13 |
| 2010s | 7 |
| 2020s | 12 |
Meaning & origin
Barkley is a surname-turned-given name with roots in English place names meaning 'birch meadow'. First recorded as a given name in 1920, it saw a notable uptick in use during the 1990s, reaching its peak rank of 10,695 in 1994 when it was given to roughly 1 in every 284,679 boys. In subsequent decades, its usage has remained stable, never breaking into the top 1,000 but maintaining a steady presence among parents seeking a surname style with a natural touch. Barkley has not been strongly associated with any particular U.S. region or state, reflecting its broad but infrequent use across the country.
Barkley is an English surname of locative origin, derived from places named Berkeley in Gloucestershire or Yorkshire. The name comes from Old English 'beorce' meaning 'birch tree' and 'leah' meaning 'wood' or 'clearing', thus 'birch meadow'. As a given name, it gained modest use in the United States from the early 20th century, with a peak in the 1990s.
Nicknames & variants
Nicknames: Bark, Lee
Sibling names for Barkley
Names that share Barkley's style, for a brother or sister.
