First Name
1.4m
in the U.S.
since 1880
Last Name
3k
in the U.S.
in 2010
Girls
Boys
On This Page
  1. Related Names
  2. Pronunciation
  3. Meanings and Origins
  4. Notable Persons Named Barbara
  5. Notable Persons With the Last Name Barbara
  6. Popularity by Year and Gender
  7. Regional Popularity
  8. Ethnicity Distribution
  9. Fun Facts
  10. What Barbaras Have Visited This Page?
  11. Name Poster

How to Pronounce Barbara

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Meaning and Origin

What does the name Barbara mean? Find out below.

Origin and Meaning of Barbara

User Submitted Origins

English
65%
Hindi,Greek,Latin
6%
Hebrew
6%
Sanskrit
6%
Latin
6%
Jamaican
6%
Greek
6%

User Submitted Meanings

  • A user from Michigan, United States says the name Barbara is of Greek origin and means "Exotic, stranger".
  • A user from Connecticut, United States says the name Barbara is of Latin origin and means "The foreigner (originally "the bearded one", referring to uncivilized non-Romans).".
  • According to a user from Netherlands, the name Barbara is of Sanskrit origin and means "Foreign, strange".

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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

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Notable Persons Named 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

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:
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Notable Persons With the Last Name Barbara

Saint Barbara

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 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:
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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 340 340 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 612 612 0
1911 737 737 0
1912 1,184 1,184 0
1913 1,458 1,451 7 #94 girl name
1914 2,061 2,061 0 #83 girl name
1915 2,704 2,704 0 #83 girl name
1916 3,118 3,113 5 #74 girl name
1917 3,541 3,535 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 6,025 6,014 11 #40 girl name
1922 6,283 6,273 10 #40 girl name
1923 7,218 7,208 10 #33 girl name
1924 8,319 8,307 12 #28 girl name
1925 9,181 9,155 26 #22 girl name
1926 11,114 11,079 35 #16 girl name
1927 13,203 13,162 41 #10 girl name
1928 14,916 14,872 44 #8 girl name
1929 16,100 16,037 63 #7 girl name
1930 18,355 18,281 74 #6 girl name
1931 21,881 21,797 84 #4 girl name
1932 26,418 26,315 103 #3 girl name
1933 27,069 26,950 119 #3 girl name
1934 29,351 29,233 118 #3 girl name
1935 30,817 30,693 124 #3 girl name
1936 31,791 31,681 110 #3 girl name
1937 35,051 34,907 144 #2 girl name
1938 39,439 39,277 162 #2 girl name
1939 37,408 37,258 150 #2 girl name
1940 36,873 36,733 140 #2 girl name
1941 39,692 39,537 155 #2 girl name
1942 44,898 44,734 164 #2 girl name
1943 43,578 43,428 150 #2 girl name
1944 39,316 39,195 121 #2 girl name
1945 38,363 38,276 87 #3 girl name
1946 45,232 45,123 109 #4 girl name
1947 48,880 48,791 89 #4 girl name
1948 46,903 46,827 76 #3 girl name
1949 42,665 42,598 67 #4 girl name
1950 41,627 41,557 70 #4 girl name
1951 40,691 40,621 70 #5 girl name
1952 39,945 39,871 74 #6 girl name
1953 38,532 38,460 72 #6 girl name
1954 36,431 36,374 57 #7 girl name
1955 33,682 33,602 80 #7 girl name
1956 32,379 32,303 76 #9 girl name
1957 29,751 29,683 68 #9 girl name
1958 27,938 27,879 59 #9 girl name
1959 25,423 25,356 67 #11 girl name
1960 24,508 24,444 64 #12 girl name
1961 23,046 22,990 56 #12 girl name
1962 20,720 20,644 76 #14 girl name
1963 18,353 18,289 64 #17 girl name
1964 16,526 16,477 49 #19 girl name
1965 14,069 14,027 42 #25 girl name
1966 13,166 13,121 45 #27 girl name
1967 11,248 11,205 43 #33 girl name
1968 9,778 9,744 34 #36 girl name
1969 8,839 8,808 31 #39 girl name
1970 8,050 8,026 24 #41 girl name
1971 6,480 6,453 27 #47 girl name
1972 5,103 5,081 22 #58 girl name
1973 4,448 4,437 11 #63 girl name
1974 3,917 3,905 12 #77 girl name
1975 3,473 3,455 18 #83 girl name
1976 2,981 2,972 9 #98 girl name
1977 2,859 2,842 17
1978 2,588 2,580 8
1979 2,506 2,491 15
1980 2,590 2,577 13
1981 2,541 2,528 13
1982 2,357 2,346 11
1983 2,028 2,019 9
1984 1,883 1,865 18
1985 1,686 1,675 11
1986 1,495 1,487 8
1987 1,641 1,632 9
1988 1,513 1,504 9
1989 1,505 1,495 10
1990 1,393 1,388 5
1991 1,248 1,239 9
1992 1,131 1,124 7
1993 954 949 5
1994 871 871 0
1995 753 753 0
1996 678 678 0
1997 690 690 0
1998 569 569 0
1999 554 554 0
2000 524 524 0
2001 490 490 0
2002 493 493 0
2003 431 431 0
2004 425 425 0
2005 398 398 0
2006 542 542 0
2007 476 476 0
2008 394 394 0
2009 457 457 0
2010 406 406 0
2011 363 363 0
2012 293 293 0
2013 313 313 0
2014 319 319 0
2015 321 321 0
2016 327 327 0
2017 292 292 0
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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.

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

Of Last Name Barbara

People with the last name Barbara are most frequently White

Entire United States

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Fun Facts about the name Barbara

  • What name lists does Barbara rank for?
    #6Most Popular Girl Name
  • How Popular is the name Barbara? Barbara is the 21st most popular name of all time. As a last name Barbara was the 10,704th most popular name in 2010.
  • How many people with the first name Barbara have been born in the United States? From 1880 to 2017, the Social Security Administration has recorded 1,438,196 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 1931 U.S. Social Security Administration data, the first name Barbara ranks 6th in popularity as a baby girl's name in Oklahoma. Imagine that, 406 babies in Oklahoma have the same name as you in 1931.
  • 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 Baaarrb. 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.
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What Barbaras Have Visited This Page?

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Name poster for Barbara

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

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All Name Lists

  • 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.