The Barrett surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 100,104 people carried this name — #314 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 2,950 people counted. That is up 4% from 95,896 in 2000.
What the name means
The meaning of the Barrett surname
An English or Irish surname from Anglo-Norman.
From the Irish surname converged from several origins, including Barόid, Bairéid, Middle English Baraud (“quarrelsome”) from Old English, and Norman Baraud, from Old French barat (“trickery, deception”).
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Barrett» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890
Ireland registered 146 births for the Barrett name in 1890.
They were registered in all four provinces, most of all in Munster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 6,500 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. 5 of them were indexed under other spellings of the name. The Registrar-General’s note on the name: “Dublin, Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Galway, and Mayo.”
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they were born, 1890
Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
71 people named Barrett live in Switzerland.
They live in 8 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 68 people named Barrett.
Most of them — 43 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 5 départements, most often Oise.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 37 people named Barrett live in Argentina.
RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Buenos Aires Province.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In Poland’s population register
20 people named Barrett have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 91 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 7 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Silesian.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
PESEL register, Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland (dane.gov.pl) — CC0 · living people by voivodeship of permanent residence, 20 January 2026.
In the Nordic population registers
180 people named Barrett are counted in Sweden and Finland.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published. Finland counts its citizens, at home or abroad.
Counted, by country
Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown) · Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV), Finland, surname statistics, August 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In print
Barrett in American newspapers,
1908–1916.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 661,414 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Barrett,
with a public archive behind them.
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Alfred Barrett d. 1849 · engineer
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John Barrett d. 1693 · military personnel
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John Barrett d. 1810 · naval officer
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Paul Barret d. 1689 · politician
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Ranleagh Barrett d. 1768 · painter
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Patrick Barrett d. 1415 · judge
Wikidata (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Barrett.
- Barrere 312 · U.S. census
- Barrero 704 · U.S. census
- Barres 242 · U.S. census
- Barresi 1,123 · U.S. census
- Barret 1,430 · U.S. census
- Barreto 10,127 · U.S. census
- Barrette 2,969 · U.S. census
- Barri 155 · U.S. census
- Barrial 157 · U.S. census
- Barrie 3,154 · U.S. census
- Barrier 3,002 · U.S. census
- Barriera 200 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Barrett is.
A volume says what happened to it.
Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.