Barney Stinson

Barney Stinson
How I Met Your Mother character
Neil Patrick Harris as Barney Stinson
First appearance"Pilot (2005)"
Last appearance"Daddy (2023)"
Created byCarter Bays
Craig Thomas
Portrayed byNeil Patrick Harris
Tanner Maguire
Riley Thomas Stewart
In-universe information
Full nameBarnabus Stinson
NicknameThe Barnacle
Awesome
Swarley
GenderMale
OccupationPLEASE...! (Provide Legal Exculpation and Sign Everything)[1]
FBI informant[1]
Lifestyle blogger[2]
FamilyLoretta Stinson (mother)
Jerome Whittaker (father)
Cheryl Whittaker (step-mother)
James Stinson (maternal half-brother)
Jerome "J. J." Whittaker, Jr. (paternal half-brother)
Carly Whittaker (paternal half-sister)
Spouse
(m. 2013; div. 2016)
(broadcast ending)
(m. 2013; div. 2016)
(m. 2020)
(Alternate DVD ending)
ChildrenEllie Stinson (daughter, born 2020)
RelativesTom (brother-in-law)
Eli Stinson (nephew)
Sadie Stinson (niece)
Leslie (cousin)
NationalityAmerican / Quarter Canadian

Barnabus Stinson is a fictional character portrayed by Neil Patrick Harris and created by Carter Bays and Craig Thomas for the CBS television series How I Met Your Mother (2005–2014).

One of the show's main characters, Barney is known for his brash, manipulative and opinionated personality. He is a womanizer known for his love of expensive suits, laser tag, and Scotch whisky. The character uses many 'plays' in his 'playbook' to help him have sex with women. In later seasons, he has a few serious relationships, then marries, divorces, and has a child with an unnamed woman from a one-night stand, and then marries the same woman again (as implied in the alternate ending). Barney's catchphrases included "Suit up!", “Go for Barney”, "What up?!", "Stinson out", "Legendary", "Wait for it" (often combining the two as "legen—wait for it—dary!"), "Daddy's home", "Haaaaave you met Ted", “True story”, “That’s the dream!”, "Challenge accepted", and "I only have one rule." (that one rule is constantly changing).

Critics have praised the character and credited Harris’ performance for much of the show's success. Barney is considered the show's breakout character.[3]

  1. ^ a b "Unpause". How I Met Your Mother. Season 9. Episode 15. January 20, 2014. CBS.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Last Forever was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Zoromski, Brian (January 8, 2010). "How I Met Your Mother: Girls vs. Suits Review". IGN. San Francisco, California: j2 Global. Retrieved February 13, 2012.