Barbara
Girl nameBarbara has been given to 1,440,831 babies in the U.S. since 1880. It peaked in 1947 and currently ranks #968 for girls (2025).
Meaning & origin /ˈbɑɹb(ə)ɹə/
From Latin Barbara, the name of Saint Barbara, feminine form of barbarus, from Ancient Greek βάρβαρος (bárbaros, “strange, foreign”). Doublet of Varvara. * (logic): From the given name; chosen because it has three A's in it representing universal affirmatives.
Origin: Latin
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Popularity over time births per year, 1880–2025
Total babies
1,440,831
Peak year
1947 (48,889 babies)
Rank in 2025
#968 for girls
First recorded
1880
10-year trend
▼ -20%
Gender split
100% girls / 0% boys
Famous people named Barbara
Barbra Streisand
American singer and actress (born 1942)
Barbara McClintock
American scientist and cytogeneticist
Barbara Stanwyck
American actress (1907–1990)
Barbara Bush
First Lady of the United States from 1989 to 1993 (1925–2018)
Notability data from Wikidata (CC0).
Names with a similar vibe
Same primary gender, peaked around the same years, and roughly as common as Barbara.
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