Barbara
Meaning of Barbara
Barbara drifts into the modern crib on a breeze scented with myrrh and sea-spray, her syllables first shaped in ancient Greek—barbaros, “the stranger,” a word that once meant every tongue outside the city walls and now hums with the allure of horizons yet unvisited. In the early Christian tale she is a luminous martyr, Saint Barbara, hidden in a tower of stone and thunder, whose father’s sword and heaven’s lightning conspired to crown her courage; to Mediterranean ears she is still the patroness of artillerymen and festive fireworks, invoked whenever cannons roar or castillos de fuegos bloom against a velvet night. Mid-century America took her to its heart—ranking her among the nation’s most-loved girls through the 1950s—before letting her popularity settle into today’s softer glow, where a few hundred families each year still choose her, as one chooses a classic melody over fleeting chart hits. In Spanish and Italian she unfurls as bar-BAH-rah, in English as BAR-buh-ruh, yet in every language her rhythm feels like cathedral bells: sturdy, resonant, and timeless. Thus Barbara arrives in a newborn’s life bearing both wanderer’s wonder and saintly fortitude, a name that promises wide horizons and the inner citadel to meet them.
Pronunciation
Spanish,Italian
- Pronunced as bar-BAH-rah (/bar.ˈba.ra/)
British English
- Pronunced as BAR-buh-ruh (/ˈbɐr.bə.rɐ/)
American English
- Pronunced as BAR-buh-ruh (/ˈbɑr.bə.rɑ/)
U.S. Popularity Chart
States Popularity Chart
Notable People Named Barbara
| Barbara Bush was the wife of President George H. W. Bush and mother of President George W. Bush, one of only two women to hold both roles. |
| Barbara McClintock was an American scientist who won the Nobel Prize for her discoveries in maize genetics, including genetic recombination. |
| Barbara Stanwyck was a versatile American actress with a 60-year career, earning numerous awards and nominations for her strong screen presence. |
| Barbara Ann Mikulski is an American politician and social worker celebrated as Maryland's longest-serving U.S. Senator. |
| Barbara Charline Jordan was a pioneering African American politician who broke racial barriers as the first elected to the Texas Senate since Reconstruction and the first southern African-American woman in the U.S. House of Representatives. |
| Barbara Cartland was a best-selling English romance novelist of the 20th century. |
| Barbara Kingsolver is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American author celebrated for novels like The Poisonwood Bible and Demon Copperhead, focusing on themes of social justice and environmental issues. |
| Barbara Eden is an American actor and singer best known for starring as Jeannie in the sitcom "I Dream of Jeannie." |
| Barbara Strozzi, an Italian Baroque composer, published more secular music than any contemporary without Church or noble patronage. |
| Barbara Barrie is an American actress and author. |
| Barbara Bodichon - Barbara Leigh Smith Bodichon was a pioneering English feminist who co-founded Girton College and authored influential works on women's rights. |
| Barbara Taylor Bradford is a best-selling British-American novelist renowned for her debut "A Woman of Substance," with over 90 million books sold and an OBE for her literary achievements. |
| Barbara Bel Geddes was an acclaimed American actress best known for winning a Primetime Emmy and Golden Globe for her role as Miss Ellie Ewing in Dallas. |
| Barbara Frum was an acclaimed American-born Canadian journalist famous for her interviews on CBC. |
| Barbara Goolsbee Bollier is an American physician and former Kansas state senator who switched from the Republican to Democratic Party and lost the 2020 U.S. Senate election to Roger Marshall. |
