Barbara (given name)
| Barbara | |
|---|---|
 Saint Barbara by Jan van Eyck. |
|
| Gender | Female |
| Language(s) | Greek |
| Origin | |
| Meaning | "foreign" (as in "barbarian") |
| Other names | |
| See also | Barbra, Babs, Barbie, Barby, Barb |
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Look up Barbara in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
Barbara is a female given name used in numerous languages. It is the feminine form of the Greek word barbaros (Greek: βαρβαρος) meaning "foreign".[citation needed] In Spanish, Portuguese and Italian it means barbarian or barbaric. In Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox tradition, Saint Barbara was martyred by her father, who was then punished with death by lightning. As such, St. Barbara is a protectress against fire and lightning. Other saints of this name include Barbara Avrillot (Barbe Aurillot, known as Marie of the Incarnation) and Barbara Koob (Marianne Cope).
Today, Barbara remains among the top 100 most popular names for female babies born in Chile, Hungary, Poland[1] and Slovakia. It is among the top 10 names given to baby girls born in both the Czech Republic and Georgia in 2009. The Russian variant Varvara is also returning to popularity in former Soviet republics such as Estonia, where it ranked among the top names for girls in 2012. Its popularity in the United States has declined from third place, in the 1930s, to 764th place, in 2011.[2]
In Italy Barbara was particularly popular during the 1970s: it is among the top 10 names given to girls born from 1969 to 1977, rising to 2nd place (behind Maria) in 1971.[3] In the same year it was the most common name for girls born in Rome and in Bologna.[4]
Variants [edit]
- Baba (English)
- Babara (Hawaiian)
- Babbie (English)
- Babette (French)
- Babs (English, German)
- Baiba (Latvian)
- Baibín (Irish Gaelic)
- Bairbre (Irish Gaelic)
- Bar (English)
- Bára (Czech)
- Bärbel (German)
- Barabal (Scottish Gaelic)
- Barb (English)
- Bàrbara (Catalan)
- Bárbara (Galician, Portuguese, Spanish)
- Barbara (Croatian, English, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Polish, Slovene)
- Barbare (Georgian)
- Barbarella (Italian)
- Barbary (English)
- Barbie (English)
- Barby (English)
- Barbora (Czech, Lithuanian, Slovak)
- Barbra (English)
- Barbro (Swedish)
- Barra (English)
- Basia (Polish)
- Baśka (Polish)
- Basieńka (Polish)
- Barča (Czech)
- Berber (Frisian)
- Bobbi (English)
- Bobbie (English)
- Borbála (Hungarian)
- Varvara (Bulgarian, Greek)
- Βαρβάρα (Varvara) (Greek)
- Варвара (Varvara) (Russian)
- Варя (Varya) (Russian hypocorism)
- 芭芭拉 (Chinese)
- Barunka (Czech)
- Barushka, Baruška (Czech)
- Barbie, Barbinka (Czech)
- Barbosh, Barbuš, Baruš (Czech)
- Barborka (Slovak)
- Barbora (Slovak)
- Barinka (Czech)
- Babolka (Czech)
People with the given name Barbara (or variants) [edit]
- Barbara (singer) (1930–1997), French singer (born Monique Andrée Serf)
- Barbara of Celje, Queen of Hungary, Germany and Bohemia, Empress of Holy Roman Empire
- Barbara of Portugal (1711–1758), Queen Consort of Spain
- Barbara Abart, Italian luger
- Barbara Acklin, American soul singer
- Barbara Adams, British egyptologist
- Barbra Amesbury, formerly Bill Amesbury, Canadian singer-songwriter, composer and filmmaker
- Barbara Bush, First Lady of the United States (1989–1993)
- Barbara Castle, British politician
- Barbara Corcoran, American entrepreneur
- Barbro Eriksdotter (Bielke), Swedish noble
- Barbara Jordan (tennis), American former tennis player
- Barbara Jordan (politician) (1936–1996), American politician
- Barbara Karinska, Ukrainian costumer of the New York City Ballet
- Barbara Kay, Canadian columnist
- Barbara Keeley, British politician
- Barbara Keiler, birth name of American author Judith Arnold
- Barbara Kellerman, British actress
- Barbara Kent, American actress
- Barbara Klerk, Belgian figure skater
- Barbora Kodetová, Czech actress
- Barbara Kolb, American composer
- Barbara Kopple, American film director
- Barbara La Marr, American actress
- Barbara Lah, Italian triple jumper
- Barbara Lea, American actress and singer
- Barbara Lee, American politician
- Barbara Levick, British historians
- Barbara Longhi (1552–1638), Italian painter
- Barbara McAlister, American diver
- Barbara McCauley, American romance writer
- Barbara McClintock, United States Scientist
- Barbara McNair, American singer and actress
- Barbara Mensing, German archer
- Barbara Moore, New Zealand long-distance runner
- Barbara Nedeljáková, Slovak actress
- Barbara Nichols, American actress and sex symbol
- Barbara Niedernhuber, German luger
- Barbara O'Neil, American actress
- Bárbara Palacios, Venezuelan beauty queen
- Barbara Paulus, Austrian former tennis player
- Barbara Pennington, American music artist
- Barbara Pierce Bush, daughter of the U.S. President George W. Bush
- Barbara Potter, Jordan's American compatriot and former tennis player
- Barbara Rafferty, Scottish actress
- Barbara Randolph, American soul singer
- Barbara Radziwiłł, Queen of Poland
- Barbara Rittner, German former tennis player
- Barbara Riveros Diaz, Chilean triathlete
- Barbara Schett, Paulus's Austrian compatriot and former tennis player
- Barbara Schwartz (tennis), Schett's Austrian compatriot and former tennis player
- Barbara Stanwyck, American actress
- Barbra Streisand, American singer and film and theatre actress (originally spelt Barbara)
- Barbara Strozzi, Italian Baroque singer and composer
- Barbara Sturgeon, British broadcaster
- Barbara Sukowa, German actress
- Barbara Traub, American photographer
- Barbara Wagner, Canadian figure skater
- Barbara Walters, American journalist
- Barbara Ward, British economist and writer
- Barbara Windsor, British comedy and soap opera actress
- Barbara Zdunk (1769–1811), Polish alleged arsonist
- Saint Barbara, 3rd-century martyr
- Varvara von Engelhardt (1752–1815), Russian lady in waiting and noble
References [edit]
- ^ "100 najpopularniejszych imion dla dzieci w 2009 roku". Gazetaprawna.pl. Retrieved 2012-02-21.
- ^ Mike Campbell. "Popularity for Barbara". Behind the Name. Retrieved 2012-07-16.
- ^ Cfr. Alda Rossebastiano-Elena Papa, I nomi di persona in Italia: dizionario storico ed etimologico, Torino, UTET, 2005 (in italian).
- ^ Cfr. Enzo Caffarelli, L'onomastica personale nella città di Roma dalla fine del secolo XIX ad oggi. Per una nuova prospettivi di sociografia e cronografia antroponimica, Tubinga, Niemeyer, 1996 (in italian).
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