Explore the Family Name Barrier

The meaning of Barrier

1. French: occupational name for a gatekeeper, from Old French barier, an agent derivative of bar(r)e ‘bar, rod’, in the sense of ‘barrier’ (compare Barre 1). 2. Altered form of French Barriere. 3. Altered form of German Berger.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Barrier in the United States?

Based on data from the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname Barrier has seen a slight increase between the years 2000 and 2010. It was ranked 10,837 in 2000 and moved up to 10,657 by 2010, indicating a growth of 1.66%. The count of individuals with this surname also rose from 2,700 to 3,002 during these years, marking an 11.19% increase. Additionally, the proportion of this surname per 100k people increased from 1.0 to 1.02, showing a 2.0% rise.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#10,837	#10,657	1.66%
Count	2,700	3,002	11.19%
Proportion per 100k	1	1.02	2%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Barrier

In terms of ethnicity, the Decennial U.S. Census data indicates shifts in the ethnic makeup of those with the surname Barrier between 2000 and 2010. While individuals identifying as White made up the largest percentage, there was a slight decrease from 88.52% to 88.14%. The number of those identifying as Black also decreased from 7.33% to 6.90%. There was a considerable decrease in the percentage of those identifying as American Indian and Alaskan Native from 0.93% to 0.37%. However, there were increases in other groups: those claiming Asian/Pacific Islander roots grew from 0.33% to 0.37%, Hispanic from 1.70% to 2.37%, and those identifying with two or more races saw a significant increase from 1.19% to 1.87%.

	2000	2010	Change
White	88.52%	88.14%	-0.43%
Black	7.33%	6.9%	-5.87%
Hispanic	1.7%	2.37%	39.41%
Two or More Races	1.19%	1.87%	57.14%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0.33%	0.37%	12.12%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0.93%	0.37%	-60.22%