Barbar
A masculine name of Arabic origin meaning "barbarian" or "outsider".
Name Census estimates that about 212 living Americans carry the first name Barbar. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Barbar today is around 67 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Barbar births was 1959 (16 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Barbar. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Barbar is about 67 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Barbars were born before 1969.
People living today
212
~ 1 in 1,616,766 Americans
Peak year
1959
16 babies that year
Average age
67
years old
1981 SSA rank
#10,568
Tracked since 1928
Popularity
Barbar: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Barbar from the 1920s through to the 1980s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 109 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Barbar by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Barbar during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Barbar
The given name Barbar has its origins tracing back to ancient Mesopotamia, specifically the Akkadian language of the Sumerian civilization, which flourished in the region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers around 3500-2350 BCE. The name is derived from the Akkadian word "barbaru," meaning "wolf" or "wolf-like."
In ancient Sumerian mythology, the wolf was often associated with strength, courage, and fierceness, qualities that were highly revered in that warrior culture. As such, parents may have chosen to name their children Barbar as a symbolic gesture, hoping to imbue them with these desirable traits.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Barbar can be found in the Sumerian King List, an ancient manuscript that chronicles the rulers of various Sumerian city-states. The text mentions a King Barbar of Kish, who is said to have reigned for an impressive 900 years, although this figure is likely symbolic or exaggerated.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Barbar. In the 7th century BCE, Barbar was a prominent Assyrian prince and military commander who served under King Ashurbanipal. His exploits are recorded in the Assyrian royal annals, which detail his victories in battles against various enemies of the Assyrian Empire.
In the medieval period, Barbar al-Baghdadi (1080-1165) was a renowned Islamic scholar and philosopher from Baghdad. He made significant contributions to the fields of logic, metaphysics, and ethics, and his works were widely studied and influential throughout the Islamic world.
During the Renaissance, Barbar Brassicanus (1472-1539) was a German humanist scholar and educator. He was a prolific writer and translator, known for his Latin translations of ancient Greek texts and his contributions to the study of classical literature.
In more recent times, Barbar Khan (1916-1988) was a celebrated Pakistani classical singer and musician. He was widely regarded as a master of the khayal style of Hindustani classical music and was awarded the prestigious Pride of Performance award by the Pakistani government in recognition of his artistic achievements.
These are just a few examples of the many individuals throughout history who have borne the name Barbar, a name that has its roots in the ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia and carries connotations of strength, courage, and fierceness.
People
Barbar + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Barbar as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with B
Other first names starting with B with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Barbar: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Barbar?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 212 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Barbar going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,616,766 US residents.
Is Barbar a common name?
We classify Barbar as "Very Rare". It ranks above 75% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 316 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Barbar most popular?
The single biggest year for Barbar was 1959, when 16 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Barbar is about 67 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Barbar a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Barbar in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.