Barbara

Barbara - A very unique female name

Barbara, meaning foreign woman, appeared on the charts for the first time in 1910 on position #135. In this article you'll learn the history of this name, statistics, see famous people named Barbara and more.
Are you having a baby or looking to learn more about the name Barbara? Our experts and editorial staff have gathered trends and insights for 30,000+ baby names over the last 100 years -- And on this page you will learn everything you ever wanted to know about the name Barbara. The baby girl name Barbara was given to 232 baby girls in 2012, ranking #912 on the national girl baby name top chart.


With that position 1 in 6,092 baby girls were given this name - making this a very unique female name according to our Popularity Score algorithm. Barbara peaked in popularity 82 years ago in 1937 on position 2.

Famous with this name

How would you rate Barbara, 1-5?

Barbara is currently topping the charts in...

Did you know that popularity can vary a lot between states? Barbara is currently topping the baby name charts in Pennsylvania at position #328 - and is the least popular in Georgia at position #1,502.

Why care about state specific baby name charts? It could be that a name that is very popular on the national overall charts is less (or even more) popular where you live. So make sure you check out the state specific charts below and find out how popular or unique Barbara is where you live.

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Barbara origin and meaning

Barbara is a 7 letter name with 3 syllables. This name means foreign woman. To see famous people named Barbara, pop culture references for the name Barbara and nicknames & variations - visit Nameberry or Wikipedia.

Similar to Barbara

We've found the following names that sound similar to Barbara, sorted by popularity.

Barbra / Barbaraann / Barbarita / Barbarann / Barbarajean / Barbarella /

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Name statistics

Most parents-to-be know if they want a popular or unique name, and with these charts and data tables you can easily get a better understanding of how popular or unique this name is.

With a quick glance you can easily tell if this name is increasing or declining in popularity - But note that its current popularity can actually differ a lot from state to state.

Chart position per year (visualized)

Chart position per state (visualized)

Chart position per year (table view)

Chart position per state (table view)

Even more about Barbara

These are some of the common questions you may want to have answered to know if this is the perfect name for your baby.

Is Barbara a common or unique name?

By analyzing the number of births and frequency of this name we've determined that it's currently a very unique female name.

What is the number of syllables for the name Barbara?

3 syllables. Why is this important? One of the things that makes a baby name sound good and have a nice rythm is the number of syllables - and especially the number of syllables along with the syllable count for your last name. A simple rule is to avoid having the same number of syllables in your first, middle and last name.