BabyNameScore

Barrett

BAIR·it · 2 syllables

Barrett is comfortably familiar.

91/100

Strong Practical Fit

Balanced across pronunciation, everyday use, lifetime fit and international use.

Name Profile

  1. Pronunciation & Spelling

    Effortless

    A documented English pronunciation is on file: BAIR-it.

    91/100

  2. Everyday Use

    Low risk

    Shortens naturally in everyday use, to one established short form.

    95/100

  3. Growing Up

    Strong lifetime fit

    Works comfortably across child and adult settings.

    82/100

  4. International Use

    Broad international fit

    Works cleanly across the assessed languages and writing systems.

    85/100

NAME DETAILS

COMMON FORMS
Bear
CLOSE SPELLINGS
Barret
Barritt
ORIGIN & HISTORY

About the name

As an English/Anglo-Norman surname, Barrett has been glossed variously as "strife"/"quarrelsome" (Middle English), "bear-strong" (Germanic bear + hard/wald compounds), or an occupational "cap-maker" name (Old French "barrette," a type of cap); sources do not agree on a single definitive reading. Genealogical sources give at least three different, unreconciled explanations for the Barrett surname's original meaning (a Germanic "bear" personal-name compound, a Middle English word for "quarrelsome/strife," and an occupational cap-maker term) — this profile reports all three as candidate etymologies rather than picking one as definitive.

  1. Barrett is a surname of Anglo-Norman origin, brought to England and Ireland after the Norman Conquest and the Anglo-Norman invasions of Ireland (1169-1170); one Irish branch settled in County Cork (Gaelicized as "Baroid") and another in Mayo and Galway (Gaelicized as "Bareid"). Its shift to given-name use follows the broader English pattern of surnames becoming first names.
POPULARITY

Barrett over time

United States
#171RANK

Rank #171 gives national context, not a classroom forecast.

Recognizable without feeling automatic. Ranked #171 in the U.S., 2025.

SourceU.S. Social Security Administration · 2025 release

Pronunciation & Forms

SAY IT

BAIR·it

STRESS ON THE FIRST SYLLABLE

COMMON FORMS
  • Bear
CLOSE SPELLINGS
  • Barret
  • Barritt
PRACTICAL LIFE

How This Name Lives

AT SCHOOL & DAY TO DAY

On a child, Barrett feels a touch formal for casual settings but works well as a distinguished-sounding given name with room to grow into.

INTO ADULTHOOD

Barrett carries a polished, surname-as-first-name register that reads as mature, formal, and professional — a natural fit for adult and workplace contexts.

Cultural Footprint

Part of the broad late-20th/early-21st-century trend of using established English/Anglo-Irish surnames as first names for boys, alongside names like Garrett, Emmett, and Everett.

TRACEABLE ORIGIN
  1. Barrett StrongAmerican singer-songwriter and Motown pianist ("Money (That's What I Want)")
  2. Barrett FoaAmerican actor, known for playing Eric Beale on NCIS: Los Angeles

More about Barrett

FORMALITY

Skews formal; it reads as a complete, professional-sounding name with few casual nicknames in common use.

Names around it

GarrettEverettBennettEmmett
EDITORIAL SYNTHESIS

The Decision

Barrett is spelled without unusual letter patterns, and it holds up in everyday use. Surname-dependent compatibility remains unassessed until a surname is added.

STRENGTH

A documented English pronunciation is on file. Uses standard characters that systems widely handle cleanly.

BEST FIT

Everyday Use is the strongest-scoring part of this name — no obvious nickname traps, rhymes, or initial issues detected.

FULL-NAME CHECK

See how it works with a surname.

Barrett