Barbee
A feminine name of French origin relating to the French word meaning "aunt".
Name Census estimates that about 64 living Americans carry the first name Barbee. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Barbee today is around 71 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Barbee births was 1952 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Barbee. 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 Barbee is about 71 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Barbees were born before 1965.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Barbee. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
64
~ 1 in 5,355,537 Americans
Peak year
1952
11 babies that year
Average age
71
years old
1979 SSA rank
#10,348
Tracked since 1929
Popularity
Barbee: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Barbee from the 1920s through to the 1970s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 49 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
Barbee 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 Barbee 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 Barbee
The given name Barbee originated from the ancient Germanic tribes, particularly the Frankish and Visigothic peoples who inhabited parts of modern-day Germany and France during the 5th to 8th centuries AD. The name is derived from the Proto-Germanic root "bard," meaning "beard" or "bearded one."
In the early medieval period, Barbee was a popular name among the Frankish nobility and warrior class, as a beard was considered a symbol of masculinity and strength. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Frankish legal code known as the Lex Salica, which dates back to the 6th century AD.
During the Carolingian Renaissance of the 8th and 9th centuries, Barbee gained popularity among the learned class, particularly scholars and clergymen. One notable figure was Barbee of Prum (c. 760-836), a Benedictine monk and scholar who served as the abbot of the Prüm Abbey in present-day Germany.
In the 11th century, Barbee became a common name among the Norman nobility who conquered and settled in England after the Norman Conquest of 1066. One of the most famous bearers of the name was Barbee de Bellême (c. 1070-1130), a powerful Norman lord who was known for his rebellion against King Henry I of England.
During the Renaissance period, the name Barbee saw a resurgence in popularity, particularly in Italy and France. One notable figure was Barbee d'Aurevilly (1808-1889), a French novelist and literary critic who was known for his works on Romanticism and Naturalism.
In the 19th century, Barbee was a popular name among the French nobility and bourgeoisie. One notable bearer of the name was Barbee Zola (1840-1902), a French novelist and playwright who is best known for his works in the Naturalist movement, including the novel "Germinal" and the play "Thérèse Raquin."
Throughout its history, the name Barbee has been borne by a variety of notable individuals, including philosophers, writers, artists, and military leaders. Some other notable figures with the name include Barbee Spinoza (1632-1677), a Dutch philosopher of Portuguese-Jewish descent; Barbee Corot (1796-1875), a French landscape painter; and Barbee Gaspard (1915-1994), a French military officer and resistance fighter during World War II.
People
Barbee + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Barbee 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
Barbee: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Barbee?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 64 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Barbee 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 5,355,537 US residents.
Is Barbee a common name?
We classify Barbee as "Very Rare". It ranks above 58% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 113 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Barbee most popular?
The single biggest year for Barbee was 1952, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Barbee is about 71 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Barbee a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Barbee 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.