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Home › Baby Names Directory › Barclay

Barclay

♂ Boy

How to Pronounce Barclay

Pronounced BAR-klay /ˈbɑːrkleɪ/High

Meaning: Barclay is a Scottish surname turned first name, from a place name built on Old English beorc, 'birch tree', and leah, 'wood, clearing', so 'birch wood' or 'birch clearing'. The family name is famously tied to the Berkeleys, who came to Scotland after the Norman Conquest, and it keeps that landscape meaning when used for a boy.Medium

In 30 seconds: Barclay is a Scottish surname-name meaning 'birch wood', used quietly for American boys through the twentieth century (said BAR-klay).
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Origin MediumScottish, English
MeaningBarclay is a Scottish surname turned first name, from a place name built on Old English beorc, 'birch tree', and leah, 'wood, clearing', so 'birch wood' or 'birch clearing'. The family name is famously tied to the Berkeleys, who came to Scotland after the Norman Conquest, and it keeps that landscape meaning when used for a boy.
U.S. rank (2021)#10941 ↗ Rising
2021 U.S. births6 boys (0.00% of U.S. boys)
Peak year1970
Total births (all-time)≈ 954

Popularity in the U.S. · SSA data

peak 197019122021

U.S. births per year (Social Security Administration, 1880–present). Pink marker = peak year.

SSA data updated May 2026. How we source & verify this data.

History & Origin

Barclay began as a Scottish surname carried by a family descended from the Norman Berkeleys, its place-name root meaning a clearing among birch trees. As a given name it belongs to the enduring fashion for dignified Scottish and English surnames used as first names, and it shares its landscape sense with the related Berkeley.

In United States records Barclay was never common, drawing only a couple dozen boys a year even at its high around 1970, a scattered surname-name rather than a fashion. A boy given it then belongs to a grandfather's generation now, and it still surfaces occasionally as a crisp, old-money-sounding choice.

Did you know? Barclay and Berkeley are the same name at root, both from an Old English phrase for a birch wood or clearing.
Overall data confidence 55%
References - Barclay — Scottish surname-name; Old English beorc 'birch' + leah 'wood/clearing'; Berkeley family

Variations

BerkeleyBarclieBarkley

Nicknames

BarcClay

Famous Bearers

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If you like Barclay…

Berkeley— the same name in its English spelling
Sinclair— another Scottish surname-name
Mackenzie— a like Scottish surname used as a first name
Sterling— another polished surname-style boy's name

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Frequently Asked

What does the name Barclay mean?

It is a Scottish surname-name from a place meaning 'birch wood', from Old English beorc 'birch' and leah 'clearing'.

How do you pronounce Barclay?

It's said BAR-klay /ˈbɑːrkleɪ/, two syllables, stress on the first.

Is Barclay a boy or girl name?

Barclay is used as a boy's name.

Is Barclay a popular name?

No, it was always rare as a first name, a surname-name that saw only faint use, peaking gently in the nineteen-seventies.

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