The Baby Name Wizard

Reader Contributions

Contribute to, or edit, this collection of community wisdom on the name Barbara!

Comments and insights on the name Barbara: | Edit

This is a beautiful classic name, which unfortunately has been downgraded for a long time because of the Barbie doll connection. It could make a comeback in the next few years, as names popular in the 1930s and 1940s begin coming back.

Personal experiences with the name Barbara: | Edit

My sister's name is Barbara, and I can say she has a great experience with her name.
For me, as her sister, it's a very beautiful name and I like to call her name. This name has very positive vibrations.
I am a Barbara who is now 63 years old but my friends call me Barb because that is what I prefer. I have always loved my name, I was Barbie as a child and actually hate being called Babs. I was named Barbara because it was the second most popular name of the day, after Linda. My mother's best friend named her newborn Linda, so I was naturally named Barbara.
I'm a Barbara who is 21 and I really, really hate this name -- I really feel like the name had a lot to do with my negative self-image growing up and I changed it the first chance I got. I've been told by many friends that they'd expect this name for an older woman, not a young girl. I hate all of the variations like "Barb" and "Barbie" and "Babs", they don't sound pretty at all. And people in the U.S. misspell it "Barbra" all the time which is also very frustrating.

Nicknames for Barbara: | Edit

Barb, Barbie, Babs, Bobbie, Bar, Barbra

Meanings and history of the name Barbara: | Edit

The name Barbara comes from the same root as the word "barbarian"; in Latin, it meant a stranger, someone who spoke a foreign language, which to the Roman ear sounded like "ba ba".

Famous real-life people named Barbara: | Edit

St. Barbara, virgin and martyr, patron of artillery and fireworks
Barbara Villiers, Lady Castlemaine; mistress of Charles II of England
Barbra Streisand, singer, producer, director and actress
Barbara Billingsley, actress
Barbara Eden, actress
Barbara Bach, actress and wife of Ringo Starr
Barbara Stanwyck, actress
Barbara Carrera, actress
Barbara Hershey, actress
Barbara Bel Geddes, actress
Barbara Tuchman, American historian, author and journalist. First woman to win the Pulitzer prize twice.
Barbara Bain, actress
Barbara Bush, U.S. first lady
Barbara Mandrell, singer
Barbara Howar, writer

Barbara in song, story & screen: | Edit

Barbara, poem by Jacques Prevert
Barbarella
"Barbara Allen" (alternatively, "Barbara Ellen") is a folk ballad sung in every English-speaking country. It dates to at least the 18th century
"Barbara Ann" is a 1960s pop song whose best-known version is by the Beach Boys
"Major Barbara", play by George Bernard Shaw
The Barbie doll, one of the most popular toys of all time, was invented by Ruth Handler and named for her daughter.
Barbara Gordon, Gotham City librarian, secret identity of Batgirl and later Oracle in DC comics
Barbara Cooper, character on '70s sitcom "One Day at a Time" played by Valerie Bertinelli
Barbara Barton, secret identity of Mockingbird in Marvel comics