Find out how popular the last name Barnaby is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Barnaby.

Barnaby, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Barnaby surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Barnaby in America

Barnaby is the 13283rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Barnaby surname appeared 2,296 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Barnaby.

We can also compare 2010 data for Barnaby to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Barnaby

The surname Barnaby originated in England, with its earliest recorded use dating back to the late 12th century. It is derived from the Old English words "beorn," meaning warrior or nobleman, and "bi," meaning a dwelling or village. The name, therefore, likely referred to someone living in or near a village inhabited or owned by a warrior or nobleman.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Barnaby appears in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire from 1196, where a person named Willelmus Bernaby is mentioned. The Pipe Rolls were financial records maintained by the English Exchequer, making this an important historical reference for the name's existence in medieval England.

The name Barnaby also appears in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273, a census-like record of landholders in England. This further solidifies the name's presence in the country during the 13th century. Variations of the spelling, such as Berneby and Bernaby, were common in these early records.

In the 14th century, the name Barnaby was associated with several notable individuals. John Barnaby, born around 1320, was a prominent English landowner and Knight of the Shire for Gloucestershire in the Parliament of 1344. Another John Barnaby, born in 1385, was a member of the influential Barnaby family of Leicestershire and served as the High Sheriff of Leicestershire and Warwickshire in 1418.

During the 16th century, the name Barnaby gained further prominence with individuals like Thomas Barnaby (1508-1557), an English clergyman who served as the Archdeacon of Leicester and was a staunch supporter of the Protestant Reformation. Another notable figure was John Barnaby (1542-1618), a renowned English jurist and Member of Parliament for Worcestershire.

In the 17th century, Nathaniel Barnaby (1628-1701) was a respected English clergyman and author who wrote several religious works, including "A Faithful Remonstrance to the Bishop of Lincoln" and "The Life and Death of Mr. William Whately."

Throughout history, the surname Barnaby has been associated with various places and locations, such as Barnaby Gate in Nottinghamshire, Barnaby Moor in Cheshire, and Barnaby Castle in County Durham, further reflecting the name's deep roots in England's historical geography.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Barnaby

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Barnaby.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Barnaby was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Barnaby has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Barnaby was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Barnaby, please contact us.

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