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First Name
1.4m
in the U.S.
since 1880
Last Name
3k
in the U.S.
in 2010

Barbara

Girls
Boys
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Last
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How to Pronounce Barbara

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How popular is the baby name Barbara in the U.S.?

Click Here to Show Chart Data
Year Total Babies Born Girls Born Boys Born Ranking
1880 127 127 0
1881 130 130 0
1882 130 130 0
1883 135 135 0
1884 193 193 0
1885 195 195 0
1886 207 207 0
1887 204 204 0
1888 253 253 0
1889 246 246 0
1890 241 241 0
1891 221 221 0
1892 278 278 0
1893 255 255 0
1894 290 290 0
1895 298 298 0
1896 324 324 0
1897 299 299 0
1898 304 304 0
1899 273 273 0
1900 341 341 0
1901 277 277 0
1902 306 306 0
1903 346 346 0
1904 357 357 0
1905 366 366 0
1906 413 413 0
1907 515 515 0
1908 514 514 0
1909 567 567 0
1910 613 613 0
1911 737 737 0
1912 1,184 1,184 0
1913 1,457 1,450 7 #94 girl name
1914 2,062 2,062 0 #82 girl name
1915 2,705 2,705 0 #83 girl name
1916 3,118 3,113 5 #74 girl name
1917 3,540 3,534 6 #67 girl name
1918 4,231 4,224 7 #60 girl name
1919 4,091 4,084 7 #60 girl name
1920 5,115 5,106 9 #47 girl name
1921 6,026 6,015 11 #40 girl name
1922 6,282 6,272 10 #40 girl name
1923 7,219 7,209 10 #33 girl name
1924 8,319 8,307 12 #28 girl name
1925 9,181 9,155 26 #22 girl name
1926 11,112 11,077 35 #16 girl name
1927 13,203 13,162 41 #10 girl name
1928 14,913 14,869 44 #8 girl name
1929 16,102 16,039 63 #7 girl name
1930 18,356 18,282 74 #6 girl name
1931 21,880 21,796 84 #4 girl name
1932 26,418 26,315 103 #3 girl name
1933 27,068 26,949 119 #3 girl name
1934 29,349 29,231 118 #3 girl name
1935 30,817 30,693 124 #3 girl name
1936 31,789 31,679 110 #3 girl name
1937 35,053 34,909 144 #2 girl name
1938 39,435 39,273 162 #2 girl name
1939 37,409 37,259 150 #2 girl name
1940 36,872 36,732 140 #2 girl name
1941 39,690 39,535 155 #2 girl name
1942 44,898 44,734 164 #2 girl name
1943 43,579 43,429 150 #2 girl name
1944 39,312 39,191 121 #2 girl name
1945 38,361 38,274 87 #3 girl name
1946 45,230 45,121 109 #4 girl name
1947 48,880 48,791 89 #4 girl name
1948 46,904 46,827 77 #3 girl name
1949 42,663 42,596 67 #4 girl name
1950 41,640 41,570 70 #4 girl name
1951 40,666 40,596 70 #5 girl name
1952 39,952 39,878 74 #6 girl name
1953 38,523 38,451 72 #6 girl name
1954 36,432 36,375 57 #7 girl name
1955 33,676 33,596 80 #7 girl name
1956 32,379 32,303 76 #9 girl name
1957 29,751 29,683 68 #9 girl name
1958 27,941 27,882 59 #9 girl name
1959 25,419 25,352 67 #11 girl name
1960 24,509 24,445 64 #12 girl name
1961 23,043 22,987 56 #12 girl name
1962 20,724 20,648 76 #14 girl name
1963 18,351 18,287 64 #17 girl name
1964 16,525 16,476 49 #19 girl name
1965 14,066 14,024 42 #25 girl name
1966 13,170 13,125 45 #27 girl name
1967 11,246 11,203 43 #33 girl name
1968 9,781 9,747 34 #36 girl name
1969 8,839 8,808 31 #39 girl name
1970 8,050 8,026 24 #41 girl name
1971 6,481 6,455 26 #47 girl name
1972 5,104 5,081 23 #58 girl name
1973 4,444 4,433 11 #63 girl name
1974 3,919 3,907 12 #77 girl name
1975 3,474 3,456 18 #83 girl name
1976 2,979 2,970 9 #98 girl name
1977 2,858 2,841 17
1978 2,586 2,578 8
1979 2,506 2,491 15
1980 2,589 2,576 13
1981 2,542 2,529 13
1982 2,355 2,344 11
1983 2,028 2,019 9
1984 1,883 1,865 18
1985 1,684 1,673 11
1986 1,494 1,486 8
1987 1,640 1,631 9
1988 1,511 1,502 9
1989 1,505 1,495 10
1990 1,393 1,388 5
1991 1,247 1,238 9
1992 1,131 1,124 7
1993 952 947 5
1994 870 870 0
1995 751 751 0
1996 678 678 0
1997 687 687 0
1998 567 567 0
1999 549 549 0
2000 518 518 0
2001 488 488 0
2002 487 487 0
2003 428 428 0
2004 422 422 0
2005 397 397 0
2006 540 540 0
2007 475 475 0
2008 391 391 0
2009 454 454 0
2010 406 406 0
2011 361 361 0
2012 291 291 0
2013 313 313 0
2014 317 317 0
2015 320 320 0

Fun Facts about the name Barbara

  • How many people with the first name Barbara have been born in the United States? From 1880 to 2015, the Social Security Administration has recorded 1,437,476 babies born with the first name Barbara in the United States. That's more than enough people named Barbara to occupy the country of Trinidad and Tobago with an estimated population of 1,317,714 (as of July 1, 2010).
  • What year were 5 or more babies first named Barbara? The name was first given to 5 or more babies in the year 1880 when it was given as a first name to 127 new born babies.
  • When was Barbara first recorded in the United States? The oldest recorded birth by the Social Security Administration for the first name Barbara is Tuesday, July 14th, 1829.
  • What year had the most people named Barbara born? The highest recorded use of the first name Barbara was in 1947 with a total of 48,791 babies. That's a lot of babies named Barbara!
  • Random Barbara Factoid: According to the 1959 U.S. Social Security Administration data, the first name Barbara ranks 17th in popularity as a baby girl's name in Michigan. Imagine that, 1,120 babies in Michigan have the same name as you in 1959.
  • Weird things about the name Barbara: Your name in reverse order is Arabrab. A random rearrangement of the letters in your name (anagram) will give Babraar. How do you pronounce that?
  • How many people have the last name Barbara? In 2010, the U.S. Census Bureau surveyed 2,986 people with the last name Barbara.
  • How likely are you to meet someone with the last name of Barbara? If you manage to meet 100,000 people in your life, chances are that 1 of them will have Barbara as their last name.

Where is the name Barbara popular?

View popular names by state or region.

Popularity of Barbara as a first name

The map shows the relative popularity of the name Barbara as a first name in each of the states. See other popular names in West Virginia, Rhode Island, or District of Columbia.

Popularity of Barbara as a last name

The map shows the absolute popularity of the name Barbara as a last name in each of the states. See other popular names in New York, New Jersey, or Louisiana.

Common last names for Barbara

  • Smith
  • Johnson
  • Brown
  • Williams
  • Jones
  • Miller
  • Davis
  • Anderson
  • Wilson
  • Moore
  • Taylor
  • Thomas
  • Martin
  • White
  • Thompson
  • Clark
  • Jackson
  • Allen
  • Harris
  • King

Common first names for Barbara

Ethnicity Distribution

Ethnicity Barbara U.S.
█  White 78.70% 64.26%
█  African American 8.84% 11.96%
█  Asian, Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander 1.88% 4.85%
█  American Indian and Alaska Native 0.40% 0.69%
█  Two or More Ethnicities 1.44% 1.76%
█  Hispanic or Latino 8.74% 16.26%

Of Last Name Barbara

People with the last name Barbara are most frequently White

Entire United States

Meaning, Origin, Inspirations, and Associations

Have you been wondering what does the name "Barbara" mean? The list below shows the origins of Barbara as well as things modernly associated with the name Barbara such as celebrities named Barbara.

Greek

Origin and Meaning of Barbara

The name "Barbara" is of Greek origin, and it means "Stranger". It's a name commonly given to girls.

Webster's Unabridged Dictionary
noun Bar"ba*ra
The first word in certain mnemonic lines which represent the various forms of the syllogism. It indicates a syllogism whose three propositions are universal affirmatives.

Etymology: Coined by logicians
Wiktionary

Name of a legendary saint, Latin Barbara, feminine form of barbarus, from Ancient Greek βάρβαρος (bárbaros, “strange, foreign”). Compare Sanskrit बर्बर (barbara, “barbarian”).

  1. A female given name.

Barbara was also found in the following language(s): Danish, Faroese, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Polish, and Slovak

Notable Persons With the Name Barbara

Barbra Streisand

Barbra Streisand is a singer, songwriter, actress, and filmmaker. Barbra was given the name Barbara Joan Streisand on April 24th, 1942 in Brooklyn, New York, U.S.

Popularity:

Barbara Eden

Barbara Eden is a notable individual. Her ongoing career started in 1956. Barbara was given the name Barbara Jean Morehead on August 23rd, 1931 in Tucson, Arizona, United States.

Popularity:

Barbara Gordon

Barbara Gordon is a comics character.

Popularity:

Barbara Bush

Barbara Bush is a First Lady of the United States and Second Lady of the United States. Barbara was born on June 8th, 1925 in Flushing, Queens.

Popularity:

Barbara Corcoran

Barbara Corcoran is a founder of the corcoran group, barbara corcoran inc., and barbara corcoran venture partners. Barbara was given the name Barbara Ann Corcoran on March 10th, 1949 in Edgewater, New Jersey.

Popularity:

Barbara Stanwyck

Barbara Stanwyck was an actress. She was most prominent from 1922 to 1986. Barbara was given the name Ruby Catherine Stevens on July 16th, 1907 in Brooklyn, New York, U.S. She passed away on January 20th, 1990.

Popularity:
  • Barbara Hale
    (actress)
  • Barbara Boxer
    (Chairwoman of the Senate Environment Committee)
  • Barbi Benton
    (playboy model)
  • Barbara Walters
    (journalist)
  • Barbara Mandrell
    (singer)
  • Barbara Bach
    (actress)
  • Barbara Palvin
    (important individual)
  • Barbara Hutton
    (philanthropy)
  • Barbara Windsor
    (actress)
  • Barbara Kruger
    (artist)
  • Barbara Bel Geddes
    (actress)
  • Jane Horrocks
    (actress)
  • Barbara Bain
    (actress)
  • Barbara Pierce Bush
    (famed individual)

Notable Persons With the Last Name Barbara

Saint Barbara

Saint Barbara is a famed somebody. She holds the title Saint, Virgin, and Martyr. Saint was born in Roman Empire.

Popularity:

Barbara

Barbara was a chanson and french pop music french singer-songwriter, actress, singer-songwriter, and actor. She plays Piano. Her career lasted from 1958 to 1996. Barbara was given the name Monique Andrée Serf on June 9th, 1930. She passed away on November 24th, 1997.

Popularity:

Ana Bárbara

Ana Bárbara is a grupera, banda (music), mariachi, cumbia, and latin pop singer, songwriter, producer, actress, tv personality, model, and record producer. She was most prominent from 1994 to present. Ana was given the name Altagracia Ugalde Motta on January 10th, 1971.

Popularity:

Joseph Barbara

Joseph Barbara was an influential individual. Joseph was born on August 9th, 1905. He breathed his last breath on June 17th, 1959.

Popularity:

Agatha Barbara

Agatha Barbara was a 3. She was most prominent from 1982 to 1987. Agatha was born on March 11th, 1923 in Żabbar. She left this life on February 4th, 2002.

Popularity:

Misstress Barbara

Misstress Barbara is a house, techno, electronica, and house music musician. Her most notable accomplishments were from 19 to 19. Misstress was given the name Barbara Bonfiglio in 1975 in Catania. Misstress is also known as Barbara Brown, Bonfiglio, and Barbara.

Popularity:

What Barbara's Have Visited This Page?

What does the name Barbara mean?

Bis for beacon, you extend your friendly hand.

Ais for able, for you surely are.

Ris for radiant, it's your personality!

Bis for bouquet, the flowers around you.

Ais for aptitudes, your special capabilities shine

Ris for rock star, let it out!

Ais for athleticism, embrace the competitor within

Name poster for Barbara

Name poster for Barbara(click to save the high quality version)

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Sources: U.S. Census Bureau: Frequently Occurring Surnames from the Census 2000 (public domain). U.S. Social Security Administration: Popular Baby Names, Death Master File (public domain). 1913 Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary via the Collaborative International Dictionary of English (License). Wiktionary: Titles and License. Notable persons via Wikipedia: Titles and License. Click each image for the attribution information.

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