Barbara (given name)
| Pronunciation | /ˈbɑːrbərə/ BAR-bər-ə |
|---|---|
| Gender | feminine |
| Language(s) | Greek |
| Name day | December 4 |
| Origin | |
| Meaning | "strange or foreign" |
| Other names | |
| See also | Barbra, Babs, Barbie, Barby, Barb, Barbro, Bärbel |
 |
Look up Barbara or barbara in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
Barbara is a given name used in numerous languages. It is the feminine form of the Greek word barbaros (Greek: βάρβαρος) meaning "stranger" or "foreign".
In Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox tradition, Saint Barbara was martyred by her father, who was then punished with death by lightning. As such, St. Barbara is a protectress against fire and lightning. Early Christians occasionally referred to themselves as "barbarians" in opposition to the pagan Romans and Greeks.[1]
Today, Barbara remains among the top 100 most popular names for female babies born in Chile, Hungary, Poland[2] and Slovakia. In 2012, it was among the top 10 names given to baby girls born in both the Czech Republic (where it is spelled Barbora) and Georgia. The Russian variant Varvara is also returning to popularity in former Soviet republics such as Estonia, where it ranked among the top names for girls in 2012, and in Russia, where it was the eighth most popular name for girls born in 2013 in Moscow. Its popularity in the United States has declined from third place, in the 1930s, to 838th place, in 2013, when it was used for 310 newborn American girls. Varvara was given to just 11 American girls in 2013.[3][4]
In Italy Barbara was particularly popular during the 1970s: it was among the top 10 names given to girls born from 1969 to 1977, rising to 2nd place (behind Maria) in 1971.[5] In the same year it was the most common name for girls born in Rome and in Bologna.[6]
Variants[]
- Babara (Hawaiian)
- Babbie (English)
- Baiba (Latvian)
- Baibín (Irish Gaelic)
- Bairbre (Irish Gaelic)
- Bára (Czech)
- Barabal (Scottish Gaelic)
- Barb (name) (English)
- Barba (Faroese)
- Bàrbara (Catalan)
- Bárbara (Galician, Portuguese, Spanish)
- Barbara (Croatian, English, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Polish, Slovene)
- Barbare (Georgian)
- Barbary (English)
- Bärbel (German)
- Barbera (Italian, old Florentine variant)
- Barbie (English)
- Barbo (Norwegian)
- Barbora (Czech, Lithuanian, Slovak)
- Barborka (Slovak), (Czech)
- Barbra (English), considered "close to extinction" in the United States as of 2013.[7]
- Barbro (Norwegian, Swedish)
- Barbuš, Baruš (Czech)
- Barby (English)
- Barča (Czech)
- Barunka (Czech)
- Baruška (Czech)
- Basia (Polish)
- Baśka (Polish)
- Basieńka (Polish)
- Berber (West Frisian)
- (Hungarian)
- Varvara (Bulgarian, Greek)
- Βαρβάρα (Varvara), (Greek)
- Варвара (Varvara), (Russian, Ukrainian)
- Варя (Varya), (Russian, Ukrainian hypocorism)
People with the given name Barbara (or variants)[]
- Saint Barbara, early Christian martyr
- Barbara (singer) (1930–1997), stage name of Monique Andrée Serf, French singer
- Bárbara Micheline do Monte Barbosa (born 1988), known as Bárbara, Brazilian footballer
- Barbara of Cilli (1392–1451), Queen of Hungary, Germany and Bohemia, Empress of Holy Roman Empire
- Barbara of Hesse (1536–1597), Duchess of Württemberg-Mömpelgard
- Barbara of Austria (1539–1572), Duchess of Ferrara
- Barbara of Brandenburg (1464–1515), Queen consort of Bohemia and Hungary
- Barbara of Portugal (1711–1758), Queen Consort of Spain
- Barbara Abart (born 1985), Italian luger
- Barbara Abbott (born 1943), American linguist
- Barbara Acklin (1943–1998), American soul singer
- Barbara Adams (attorney) (born 1951), Pennsylvania politician
- Barbara Adams (Egyptologist) (1945–2002), British egyptologist
- Barbara Adams (politician) (born 1962), Canadian politician
- Barbra Amesbury (born 1948), formerly Bill Amesbury, Canadian singer-songwriter, composer and filmmaker
- Barbara Angus (1924–2005), New Zealand diplomat and historian
- Barbara Auer (born 1959), German actress
- Barbara Avedon (1925–1994), television writer
- Barbara Ayrton-Gould (1886–1950), British politician and suffragist
- Barbara Bach (born 1947), American actress
- Barbara Bain (born 1931), American actress
- Barbara Ballard (born 1944), American politician
- Barbara Ball (1924–2011), Bermudian politician
- Barbara Bates (1925–1969), American actress
- Barbara Bates (doctor) (1928–2002), American physician, author and historian
- Barbara Berlusconi (born 1984), Italian business executive
- Barbara Bestor (born 1969), American architect based in Los Angeles
- Barbara Bohannan-Sheppard (born 1950), American politician
- Barbara Boxer (born 1940), U.S. Senator from California
- Barbara Bush (1925–2018), First Lady of the United States (1989–1993)
- Barbara Calder (1924–2018), British yachtswoman
- Barbara Carrera (born 1945), Nicaraguan American actress
- Barbara Cartland (1901–2000), English novelist
- Barbara Castle (1910–2002), British politician
- Barbara Creecy (born 1958), South African politician
- Barbara Colby (1939–1975), American actress
- Barbara Comstock (born 1959), American attorney, lobbyist, and politician
- Barbara Comyns (1907–1992), English writer and artist
- Barbara Corcoran (born 1949), American entrepreneur
- Barbara Dex (born 1974), Belgian singer
- Barbara Dickson (born 1947), British singer
- Barbara Dittrich (born 1964), American politician
- Barbara Dunkelman (born 1989), Canadian-born actress for Rooster Teeth
- Barbara Eden (born 1931), American actress
- Barbara Ercolano, Italian astrophysicist
- Barbro Eriksdotter (Bielke) ,(died 1553), Swedish noble
- Barbara Feldon (born 1933), American actress
- Barbara Figueroa, American chef
- barbara findlay, Canadian lawyer
- Barbara Flaminia (1540–1586), Italian stage actress
- Barbara Frittoli (born 1967), Italian opera singer
- Barbara Frost (born 1952), British charity executive
- Barbara Frum (1937–1992), Canadian broadcast journalist
- Barbara Fugger (1419–1497), German banker
- Barbara Fuld, better known as Bracha Fuld (1926–1946), German-born Jewish resistance fighter
- Barbara Galpin (1855–1922), American journalist
- Barbara Gibbs Golffing (1912–1993), American poet and translator
- Barbara Gibson, Canadian diplomat
- Barbara Gibson (born 1962), American-born British politician and academic
- Barbara Gordon (filmmaker), American documentary filmmaker and author
- Barbara Hale (1922–2017), American actress
- Barbara Hanley (1882–1959), Canadian politician
- Barbara Harris (actress) (1935–2018), American actress
- Barbara Hendricks (born 1948), African-American operatic soprano
- Barbara Hendricks (politician) (born 1952), German politician, Minister of Finance
- Barbara Hepworth (1903–1975), British artist and sculptor
- Barbara Hershey (born 1948), American actress
- Barbara Howard (1920–2017), Canadian sprinter
- Barbara Hutton (1912–1979), American heiress
- Barbara Elisabeth van Houten (1863–1950), Dutch painter
- Barbara Jackman (born 1950), Canadian lawyer
- Barbara Janke (born 1947), British politician
- Barbara Jelić-Ružić (born 1977), Croatian volleyball player
- Barbara Joan March (born 1945), American criminal
- Barbara Jordan (1936–1996), American politician
- Barbara Jordan (poet) (born 1949), American poet
- Barbara Jordan (tennis) (born 1957), American tennis player
- Barbara Kalik (born 1936), American politician
- Barbara Karinska (1886–1983), Ukrainian costumer of the New York City Ballet
- Barbara Karlich (born 1969), Austrian television presenter
- Barbara Kavovit, American socialite
- Barbara Kay (born 1943), Canadian columnist
- Barbara Keeley (born 1952), British politician
- Barbara Keiler, pen name Judith Arnold (born 1953), American writer
- Barbara Kellerman (born 1949), British actress
- Barbara Kent (1907–2011), American actress
- Barbara Klerk (born 1989), Belgian figure skater
- Barbara Knox (born 1933), English actress
- Barbora Kodetová (born 1970), Czech actress
- Barbara Kolb (born 1939), American composer
- Barbara Kopple (born 1946), American film director
- Barbara La Marr (1896–1926), American actress
- Barbara Lah (born 1972), Italian triple jumper
- Barbara Lea (1929–2011), American actress and singer
- Barbara Lee (born 1946), American politician
- Barbara Levick (born 1931), British historian
- Barbara Lezzi (born 1972), Italian politician
- Barbara Liskov (born 1939), American computer scientist, recipient of the Turing Award
- Barbara Longhi (1552–1638), Italian painter
- Barbara de Loor (born 1974), Dutch speed skater
- Barbara Mandrell (born 1948), American singer and musician
- Barbara Masini (born 1974), Italian politician
- Barbara Matera (born 1981), Italian politician
- Barbara Matera (costume designer) (1929–2001), British-born American costume and clothing designer
- Barbara McAlister, American diver
- Barbara McCauley, American romance writer
- Barbara McClintock (1902–1992), American scientist
- Barbara McNair (1934–2007), American singer and actress
- Barbara Mensing (born 1960), German archer
- Barbara Moore (athlete) (born 1957), New Zealand long-distance runner
- Barbara Nedeljáková (born 1979), Slovak actress
- Barbara Nichols (1928–1976), American actress and sex symbol
- Barbara Niedernhuber (born 1974), German luger
- Barbara Oddone (born 1970), Italian tennis player
- Barbara O'Neal, American novelist
- Barbara O'Neil (1910–1980), American actress
- Bárbara Palacios (born 1963), Venezuelan beauty queen
- Barbara Palvin (born 1993), Hungarian model
- Barbara Patton (born 1944), New York politician and university professor
- Barbara Paulus (born 1970), Austrian tennis player
- Barbara Pennington (born 1950s), American music artist
- Barbara Piwnik (born 1955), Polish judge and politician
- Barbara Poma, founder of the Pulse nightclub, which experienced a mass shooting on June 12, 2016.
- Barbara Pompili (born 1975), French politician
- Barbara Potter (born 1961), Jordan's American compatriot and tennis player
- Barbara Pravi (born 1993), French singer
- Barbara Rafferty (born 1950), Scottish actress
- Barbara Randolph (1942–2002), American soul singer
- Barbara Radziwiłł (1520–1551), Queen of Poland
- Barbara Rittner (born 1973), German tennis player
- Barbara Riveros Diaz, Chilean triathlete
- Barbara Roche (born 1954), British politician
- Barbara Romagnan (born 1974), French politician and teacher
- Barbara Ann Rowan (1938–2020), American attorney
- Barbara Rudnik (1958–2009), German actress
- Barbara Schett (born 1976), Austrian tennis player
- Barbara Schöneberger (born 1974), German entertainer
- Barbara Schwartz (disambiguation), several people
- Barbara Seidenath (born 1960), American metalsmith and jeweler
- Barbara Stanwyck (1907–1990), American actress
- Barbara Steel (1857–1942), Scottish-South African suffragette
- Barbra Streisand (born 1942), American singer and film and theatre actress
- Barbara Strozzi (1619–1677), Italian Baroque singer and composer
- Barbara Sturgeon, British broadcaster
- Barbara Sukowa (born 1950), German actress
- Barbara Thaler (born 1982), Austrian politician
- Barbara Traub, American photographer
- Barbara Tudek (1952–2019), biologist, professor who served as president of the Polish section of the European Environmental Mutagenesis and Genomics Society
- Barbara Voss (born 1967), American historical archaeologist
- Barbara Wagner (born 1938), Canadian figure skater
- Barbara Walters (born 1929), American journalist
- Barbara Ward, British economist and writer
- Barbara Wasinger, American politician
- Barbara Webster-Bourne, Anguillian Speaker of the National Assembly
- Barbara Windsor (1937–2020), English comedy and soap opera actress
- Barbara Alyn Woods, American actress
- Barbara Woodward (born 1961), British diplomat
- Barbara Yeaman (born 1924), American conservationist
- Barbara Yorke (born 1951), British historian
- Barbara Young (born 1948), British civil servant and politician
- Barbara Zdunk (1769–1811), Polish alleged arsonist
See also[]
- Varvara (disambiguation)
- All pages with titles beginning with Barbara (given name)
References[]
- ^ \Losemann, Volker. ""Barbarians"". Brill's New Pauly Online. Brill. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
- ^ "100 najpopularniejszych imion dla dzieci w 2009 roku". Gazetaprawna.pl. Retrieved 2012-02-21.
- ^ Mike Campbell. "Popularity for Barbara". Behind the Name. Retrieved 2012-07-16.
- ^ OACT. "Popular Baby Names". www.ssa.gov. Retrieved 2019-09-19.
- ^ Cfr. Alda Rossebastiano-Elena Papa, I nomi di persona in Italia: dizionario storico ed etimologico, Torino, UTET, 2005 (in Italian).
- ^ Cfr. Enzo Caffarelli, L'onomastica personale nella città di Roma dalla fine del secolo XIX ad oggi. Per una nuova prospettivi di sociografia e cronografia antroponimica, Tubinga, Niemeyer, 1996 (in Italian).
- ^ "Baby Names on the Verge of Extinction". Yahoo! Parenting. Dec 26, 2015. Retrieved Jan 3, 2016.
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