Barbara

Barbara: name meaning, origin & popularity

Meaning: “foreign woman”
Origin: Greek
Say it: BAR-bruh · 2 syllables
Used for: Girls

From Greek barbaros meaning 'foreign' or 'strange'. It became widespread through Saint Barbara in Christian tradition.

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How popular is Barbara?

202494.0 per million US babies

Drag the line or the slider to read any year. Values are per million US births recorded by Social Security. Records before about 1937 undercount births, so early peaks can look taller than they were.

Compare with another name

Babies named Barbara in 2024313

2024 rank#859 girls

Peak year1938

Total US babies since 18801,440,537

Barbara is steady now but far below its 1938 peak.

Names like Barbara

Variants, related forms and names with the same roots.

Barbraforeign woman · Greek
Sophiawisdom · Greek
Sofiawisdom · Greek
Chloeyoung green shoot · Greek
Zoelife · Greek
Penelopeweaver; duck · Greek
Elenabright, shining light · Greek
Genesisorigin; creation; birth · Greek

Barbara questions

What does the name Barbara mean?

Barbara means "foreign woman". It comes from Greek. From Greek barbaros meaning 'foreign' or 'strange'. It became widespread through Saint Barbara in Christian tradition.

Is Barbara a boy or girl name?

Barbara is mainly a girl's name in US records (100% of uses since 1880).

How popular is Barbara?

313 US babies were named Barbara in 2024. Its peak year was 1938.

How do you pronounce Barbara?

Barbara is usually pronounced BAR-bruh.

Birth counts: US Social Security Administration national data, 1880–2024 (names given to 5+ babies of a sex in a year). How we write meanings.