2000
#99
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 210,426
First available Census row
Per 100,000 78.00
Common Last name
Barnes
An occupational surname referring to someone who worked in or owned a barn.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 236,720 Americans carry the last name Barnes. That puts it at #116 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 69.06 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,448 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Barnes surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Barnes with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
237K
1 in 1,448
Census rank
#116
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
69.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
206K
common in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 206,431 bearers of the surname Barnes in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 69.06 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 116th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Barnes, the largest self-reported group is White at 61.8%. The next largest groups are Black (28.9%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Barnes
The surname Barnes originates from the English language and is believed to have first appeared in the 11th century. It is derived from the Old English word "bearn", meaning a child or young man, and the word "hus", meaning a house or homestead. The name was likely given to someone who lived or worked in a barn or outbuilding.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Barn". This record suggests that the name was already in use during the Norman Conquest of England in the 11th century.
In the 12th century, the name was also recorded as "Barne" and "Barns" in various English historical documents. Some of the earliest examples include William Barne, who was listed in the Pipe Rolls of Northamptonshire in 1195, and Robert de Barns, who was recorded in the Curia Regis Rolls of Lincolnshire in 1204.
The name Barnes is also associated with several place names in England, such as Barnes in London, which was originally recorded as "Barne" in the Domesday Book, and Barnes in Sunderland, which was known as "Barn" in ancient records.
One famous individual with the surname Barnes was Juliana Barnes, an English writer and herbalist who lived in the 16th century. She is known for her work "The Herbal or General Historie of Plantes", published in 1598.
Another notable figure was Thomas Barnes, a Puritan minister and author who lived from 1594 to 1667. He was a significant figure in the English Reformation and wrote several influential works on theology and church governance.
In the 18th century, John Barnes, an English naval officer and explorer, was born in 1752. He is best known for his voyages to the Pacific Northwest of North America and his exploration of the regions that are now part of British Columbia and Alaska.
Joshua Barnes, born in 1654 and died in 1712, was an English scholar and writer. He made significant contributions to the study of ancient Greek and Latin literature and authored several works on classical texts.
Finally, Susan Barnes, born in 1817 and died in 1910, was an English philanthropist and social reformer. She was instrumental in establishing several charitable organizations and advocating for the rights of women and children in Victorian England.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Barnes
Among Census respondents with the surname Barnes, the largest self-reported group is White at 61.8%. The next largest groups are Black (28.9%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Barnes bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Barnes surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White61.8% · 127,493
- Black or African American28.9% · 59,679
- Two or more races4.6% · 9,569
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 6,891
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 1,505
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 1,294
Timeline
Historical Census data for Barnes
Barnes appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#110
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 218,241
+7,815 bearers (+3.7%)
Per 100,000 73.99
Rank movement Down 11 places
2020
#116
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 206,431
-11,810 bearers (-5.4%)
Per 100,000 69.06
Rank movement Down 6 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #99 | 210,426 | 78.00 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #110 | 218,241 | 73.99 | +7,815 bearers (+3.7%) | Down 11 places |
| 2020 | #116 | 206,431 | 69.06 | -11,810 bearers (-5.4%) | Down 6 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Barnes surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #110 | #116 | -5.5% |
| Count | 218,241 | 206,431 | -5.4% |
| Per 100K | 73.99 | 69.06 | -6.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Barnes bearers went from 218,241 to 206,431 (-5.4% change). The surname moved down 6 positions in the national ranking, going from #110 to #116.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Barnes
FAQ
Barnes surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Barnes?
Name Census estimates that about 236,720 living Americans carry the surname Barnes. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,448 residents.
How common is Barnes?
Barnes ranks #116 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Common." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 69.06 per 100,000 residents, which is about 69 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 206,431 people with the surname Barnes. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (236,720), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 69.06 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 69.06 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 69 of them to have the surname Barnes.
Has Barnes become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Barnes went from 218,241 recorded bearers to 206,431. That is a decrease of 11,810 (-5.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #110 to #116.
What does the Census say about the background of Barnes?
Among Census respondents with the surname Barnes, the largest self-reported group is White at 61.8%. The next largest groups are Black (28.9%) and Two or More Races (4.6%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Barnes in the 2020 Census, accounting for 61.8% (127,493 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Barnes appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (61.8%), Black (28.9%), Two or More Races (4.6%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Barnes (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Barnes mean?
An occupational surname referring to someone who worked in or owned a barn. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Barnes (69.06 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How common is the surname Barnes?
See how many people have the last name Barnes on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.