How rare is the name Barbra?

12,020 people in the United States have the first name Barbra, about 1 in 25,127. It ranks #2,192 of 53,615 first names in the 2020 Census.

first name

BARBRA

#2,192

of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census

People
12,020
About
1 in 25,127
This common or more
78.9%
Who bears it

Of the 12,020 people named Barbra, 79.1% reported their origin as White, 11.7% as Black and 4.5% as Hispanic or Latino. Virtually all are female (99.8%). These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.

Barbra peaked in 1966, when 343 babies got the name.

Births per year, SSA records 1880–2025
18822014
Peak year
1966
Births that year
343
In 2014
5 ▼99%
Recorded as
almost entirely female

At least 7,758 babies have been given the name since 1882. Years SSA withheld, because fewer than 5 were born, are skipped rather than drawn as zero.

Barbra by decade

Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 1960s, when it ranked #1,280. The largest share of babies named Barbra, 37.7%, were born during the baby boom (1946–1964).

1880s#3,1215
1890s#3,9395
1900s#4,9315
1910s#3,874111
1920s#2,608311
1930s#1,484720
1940s#1,3021,142
1950s#1,2961,665
1960s#1,2801,890
1970s#1,8431,116
1980s#3,361514
1990s#8,467187
2000s#19,75972
2010s#36,94115
Before 19010.2%
Greatest Generation 1901–274.4%
Silent Generation 1928–4517.4%
Baby boom 1946–6437.7%
Generation X 1965–8031.3%
Millennials 1981–967.4%
Generation Z 1997–121.5%
2013 and later0.1%

Rank counts both sexes together, among every name SSA recorded that decade; the number under it is births. Generation years follow Pew Research Center, which has not named a generation after 2012.

Where Barbra is most common

Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Barbra has been most common in Mississippi (2.3×), Ohio (1.8×), and Arkansas (1.7×), and least common in Virginia (0.33×).

4,020 births recorded by state, 1910–2025. 2× means twice as common as nationally. States with fewer than 30 such births are left blank, and SSA withholds any year with fewer than 5 in a state, so small states read low.

Either side of Barbra

#2,190 Annabella · 12,034#2,191 Nasir · 12,030#2,193 Scot · 12,000#2,194 Bert · 11,997

Spelled almost the same

5 first names in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Barbra, most common first.

#29 Barbara · 943,006#11,453 Barbera · 1,118#18,697 Barabra · 574#31,690 Barbora · 269#38,175 Barbro · 202

Also a last name

As a last name, Barbra ranks #151,639 of 156,621, with 107 people. See Barbra as a last name

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