Barbara, sometimes spelt
Barbra, is a
femaleFemale is the sex of an organism, or a part of an organism, which produces mobile ova .- Defining Characteristics :The ova are defined as the larger gametes in a heterogamous reproduction system, while the smaller, usually motile gamete, the spermatozoon, is produced by the male...
given nameA given name is a personal name that specifies and differentiates between members of a group of individuals, especially in a family, all of whose members usually share the same family name...
used in numerous languages. It is the feminine form of the Greek word
barbaros meaning "foreign" (see
BarbarianBarbarian is a term for an uncivilized person, often used pejoratively, either in a general reference to a member of a nation or ethnos, typically a tribal society as seen by an urban civilization either viewed as inferior, or admired as a noble savage...
). In Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox tradition,
Saint BarbaraSaint Barbara, known in the Eastern Orthodox Church as the Great Martyr Barbara , was a Christian saint and martyr. Although there is no reference to her in the authentic early Christian writings, nor in the original recension of Saint Jerome's martyrology, veneration of her was common from the...
was
martyredA martyr is somebody who suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce a belief, usually religious.-Meaning:...
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 IncarnationMarie of the Incarnation , born as Barbara Avrillot and known also as Madame Acarie, was foundress of the French Carmelites.-Biography:...
) and Barbara Koob (Marianne Cope).
Today, Barbara remains among the top 100 most popular names for female babies born in
HungaryHungary , in English officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in the Carpathian Basin of Central Europe, bordered by Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia. Its capital is Budapest. Hungary is a member of OECD, NATO, EU, V4 and is a Schengen state...
,
ChileChile, officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
, and
SloveniaSlovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central Europe bordering Italy to the west, the Adriatic Sea to the southwest, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north...
.
Discussion
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Barbara, sometimes spelt
Barbra, is a
femaleFemale is the sex of an organism, or a part of an organism, which produces mobile ova .- Defining Characteristics :The ova are defined as the larger gametes in a heterogamous reproduction system, while the smaller, usually motile gamete, the spermatozoon, is produced by the male...
given nameA given name is a personal name that specifies and differentiates between members of a group of individuals, especially in a family, all of whose members usually share the same family name...
used in numerous languages. It is the feminine form of the Greek word
barbaros meaning "foreign" (see
BarbarianBarbarian is a term for an uncivilized person, often used pejoratively, either in a general reference to a member of a nation or ethnos, typically a tribal society as seen by an urban civilization either viewed as inferior, or admired as a noble savage...
). In Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox tradition,
Saint BarbaraSaint Barbara, known in the Eastern Orthodox Church as the Great Martyr Barbara , was a Christian saint and martyr. Although there is no reference to her in the authentic early Christian writings, nor in the original recension of Saint Jerome's martyrology, veneration of her was common from the...
was
martyredA martyr is somebody who suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce a belief, usually religious.-Meaning:...
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 IncarnationMarie of the Incarnation , born as Barbara Avrillot and known also as Madame Acarie, was foundress of the French Carmelites.-Biography:...
) and Barbara Koob (Marianne Cope).
Today, Barbara remains among the top 100 most popular names for female babies born in
HungaryHungary , in English officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in the Carpathian Basin of Central Europe, bordered by Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia. Its capital is Budapest. Hungary is a member of OECD, NATO, EU, V4 and is a Schengen state...
,
ChileChile, officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
, and
SloveniaSlovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central Europe bordering Italy to the west, the Adriatic Sea to the southwest, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north...
. Its popularity in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
has declined from third place, in the 1930s, to 633rd place, in 2007.
Variants
- Baba (English
English is a West Germanic language that developed in England during the Anglo-Saxon era. As a result of the military, economic, scientific, political, and cultural influence of the British Empire during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, and of the United States since the mid 20th century,...
)
- Babara (Hawaiian
The Hawaiian language is a Polynesian language that takes its name from Hawaii, the largest island in the tropical North Pacific archipelago where it developed. Hawaiian, along with English, is an official language of the state of Hawaii...
)
- Babbie (English
English is a West Germanic language that developed in England during the Anglo-Saxon era. As a result of the military, economic, scientific, political, and cultural influence of the British Empire during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, and of the United States since the mid 20th century,...
)
- Babette (French
French is a Romance language globally spoken by about 65 million people as a first language , by 50 million as a second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired foreign language, with significant speakers in 57 countries. Most native speakers of the language live in France,...
)
- Babs (English
English is a West Germanic language that developed in England during the Anglo-Saxon era. As a result of the military, economic, scientific, political, and cultural influence of the British Empire during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, and of the United States since the mid 20th century,...
)
- Baibín (Irish Gaelic)
- Báirbre (Irish Gaelic)
- Bar (English
English is a West Germanic language that developed in England during the Anglo-Saxon era. As a result of the military, economic, scientific, political, and cultural influence of the British Empire during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, and of the United States since the mid 20th century,...
)
- Barabal (Scottish Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic is a member of the Goidelic branch of Celtic languages, and is distinct from the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages, which includes Welsh, Cornish, and Breton. Scottish, Manx and Irish Gaelic are all descended from Old Irish...
)
- Barb (English
English is a West Germanic language that developed in England during the Anglo-Saxon era. As a result of the military, economic, scientific, political, and cultural influence of the British Empire during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, and of the United States since the mid 20th century,...
)
- Bárbara (Portuguese
Portuguese is a Romance language that originated in what is now Galicia and northern Portugal. It is derived from the Latin spoken by the romanized Pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian Peninsula around 2000 years ago...
)
- Barbara (English
English is a West Germanic language that developed in England during the Anglo-Saxon era. As a result of the military, economic, scientific, political, and cultural influence of the British Empire during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, and of the United States since the mid 20th century,...
), (FrenchFrench is a Romance language globally spoken by about 65 million people as a first language , by 50 million as a second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired foreign language, with significant speakers in 57 countries. Most native speakers of the language live in France,...
), (GermanGerman is a West Germanic language, thus related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. It is one of the world's major languages and the most widely spoken first language in the European Union. Around the world, German is spoken by approximately 105 million native speakers and also by...
), (HungarianHungarian is a Uralic language unrelated to most other languages in Europe. It is mainly spoken in Hungary and by the Hungarian minorities in the seven neighbouring countries...
), (ItalianItalian is a Romance language spoken by about 60 million people in Italy, and by a total of around 70 million in the world. In Switzerland, Italian is one of four official languages. It is also the official language of San Marino, as well as the primary language of Vatican City...
), (Slovene)
- Barbarella (Italian
Italian is a Romance language spoken by about 60 million people in Italy, and by a total of around 70 million in the world. In Switzerland, Italian is one of four official languages. It is also the official language of San Marino, as well as the primary language of Vatican City...
)
- Barbary (English
English is a West Germanic language that developed in England during the Anglo-Saxon era. As a result of the military, economic, scientific, political, and cultural influence of the British Empire during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, and of the United States since the mid 20th century,...
)
- Barbie (English
English is a West Germanic language that developed in England during the Anglo-Saxon era. As a result of the military, economic, scientific, political, and cultural influence of the British Empire during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, and of the United States since the mid 20th century,...
)
- Barbora (Czech
Czech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers; it is the majority language in the Czech Republic and spoken by Czechs worldwide. Czech is similar to and mutually intelligible with Slovak and, to a lesser extent, to Polish and Sorbian. - Official status :Czech is widely...
), (SlovakThe Slovak language , is an Indo-European language that belongs to the West Slavic languages ....
)
- Barbra (English
English is a West Germanic language that developed in England during the Anglo-Saxon era. As a result of the military, economic, scientific, political, and cultural influence of the British Empire during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, and of the United States since the mid 20th century,...
)
- Barbro (Swedish
Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along the coast and on the Åland islands. It is to a considerable extent mutually intelligible with Norwegian and to a lesser extent with Danish...
)
- Barra (English
English is a West Germanic language that developed in England during the Anglo-Saxon era. As a result of the military, economic, scientific, political, and cultural influence of the British Empire during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, and of the United States since the mid 20th century,...
)
- Basia (Polish
Polish is a West Slavic language and the official language of Poland. Its written standard is the Polish alphabet which corresponds basically to the Latin alphabet with a few additions...
)
- Bobbi (English
English is a West Germanic language that developed in England during the Anglo-Saxon era. As a result of the military, economic, scientific, political, and cultural influence of the British Empire during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, and of the United States since the mid 20th century,...
)
- Bobbie (English
English is a West Germanic language that developed in England during the Anglo-Saxon era. As a result of the military, economic, scientific, political, and cultural influence of the British Empire during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, and of the United States since the mid 20th century,...
)
- Borbála (Hungarian
Hungarian is a Uralic language unrelated to most other languages in Europe. It is mainly spoken in Hungary and by the Hungarian minorities in the seven neighbouring countries...
)
- Varenka (Russian
Russian is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages, and the largest native language in Europe...
)
- Varinka (Russian
Russian is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages, and the largest native language in Europe...
)
- Varvara (Bulgarian
Bulgarian is an Indo-European language, a member of the Slavic linguistic group.Bulgarian demonstrates several linguistic innovations that set it apart from all other Slavic languages except the Macedonian language, such as the elimination of case declension, the development of a suffixed definite...
), (GreekGreek , an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, is the language of the Greeks. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. In its ancient form, it is the language of classical...
), (RussianRussian is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages, and the largest native language in Europe...
)
- Varya (Russian
Russian is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages, and the largest native language in Europe...
)
- Varyusha (Russian
Russian is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages, and the largest native language in Europe...
)
People with the given name Barbara
- Barbara Abart
Barbara Abart is an Italian luger who has competed since 2001. A natural track luger, she won the silver medal in the women's singles event at the 2005 FIL World Luge Natural Track Championships in Latsch, Italy....
, an Italian luger
- Barbara Acklin
Barbara Acklin was a soul singer of the 1960s and 1970s. Her biggest hit was "Love Makes a Woman" in 1968 which reached the top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.-Career:...
, an American soul singer
- Barbara Adams, a British egyptologist
- Barbra Amesbury, formerly Bill Amesbury, Canadian singer-songwriter, composer and filmmaker
- Barbara Bush
Barbara Pierce Bush is the wife of the 41st President of the United States George H. W. Bush, and mother of the 43rd President George W. Bush and 43rd Governor of Florida Jeb Bush. She is one of only two women to be both wife and mother to US presidents, the other being Abigail Adams...
, First Lady of the United StatesFirst Lady of the United States is the title of the hostess of the White House. Because this position is traditionally filled by the wife of the President of the United States, the title is most often applied to the wife of a sitting president...
- Barbara of Celje
Barbara of Celje or Barbara of Cilli was Holy Roman Empress...
, Queen of Hungary, Germany & Bohemia, Empress of Holy Roman Empire
- Barbara Hershey
Barbara Hershey is an American actress and activist.-Personal life:...
, an American actress
- Barbara Karinska
Varvara Zhmoudsky, better known as Barbara Karinska or simply Karinska , was costumer of the New York City Ballet, and the first costume designer ever to win the Capezio Dance Award, for costumes "of visual beauty for the spectator and complete delight for the dancer"...
, Ukraine costumer of the New York City Ballet
- Barbara Kay
Barbara Kay is a columnist with the National Post.Kay is a graduate of the University of Toronto where she earned an undergraduate degree in English literature...
, a Canadian columnist
- Barbara Keeley
Barbara Keeley is the Labour Party Member of Parliament in the British House of Commons for Worsley. She was elected at the 2005 general election, after the retirement of Terry Lewis...
, a British politician
- Barbara Keiler, birth name of American author Judith Arnold
- Barbara Kellerman
Barbara Kellerman is an English actress, noted for her film and television roles. She trained at Rose Bruford College. Kellerman's Jewish parents had fled Nazi Germany and settled in Leeds. Her father was an academic physicist and her mother was a senior teacher of modern foreign languages...
, a British actress
- Barbara Kent
Barbara Kent is an actress who was popular in silent movies. She is among the last surviving players from the silent film period....
, an American actress
- Barbara Klerk
Barbara Klerk is a Belgian figure skater. She is the 2006 Belgian national silver medalist and 2007 national bronze medalist.-Competitive highlights:* J = Junior Level...
, a Belgian figure skater
- Barbara Kodetová
Barbora Kodetová is a Czech actress perhaps best known for her portrayal of Paul Atreides' companion Chani in the 2000 television miniseries Frank Herbert's Dune and its 2003 sequel, Frank Herbert's Children of Dune....
, a Czech actress
- Barbara Kolb
Barbara Kolb is an American composer. Her music uses sound masses and often creates vertical structures through simultaneous rhythmic or melodic units . She was the first woman composer to win the Prix de Rome. She received her B.M. and M.M...
, an American composer
- Barbara Kopple
Barbara Kopple is an American film director, primarily known for her work in documentary film. She has won two Academy Awards, the first in 1976 for Harlan County, USA, about a Kentucky miners' strike, and the second in 1991 for...
, an American film director
- Barbara La Marr
Barbara La Marr was an American stage and film actress, cabaret artist and screenwriter.-Early life:She was born Reatha Dale Watson to William Wallace and Rosana "Rose" Watson in Yakima, Washington...
, an American actress
- Barbara Lah
Barbara Lah is a retired Italian triple jumper, whose personal best jump is 14.38 metres, at the 2003 World Championships in Paris. In addition she has 6.12 m in the long jump.-Achievements:...
, an Italian triple jumper
- Barbara Lea
Barbara Lea is an American actress and singer.- Background :Lea was born into a musical family; her musical heritage is traceable to a great uncle, Alexandre Charles LeCoq — an important nineteenth-century composer of French light opera.She grew up in a Detroit suburb and attended the...
, an American actress and singer
- Barbara Lee
Barbara Jean Lee , is an American politician, and has been a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives since 1998, representing . She is the first woman to represent that district. Lee is the Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus and was the Co-Chair of the Congressional...
, an American politician
- Barbara Levick
Barbara M. Levick is one of the United Kingdom's foremost ancient historians. She was educated at St Hugh's College, Oxford, and, since 1959, has been a Fellow of St Hilda's College, Oxford...
, a British historians
- Barbara McAlister
See also, Barbara McAlister Barbara McAlister is an American diver. She won a gold medal in springboard diving at the 1963 Pan American Games in São Paulo....
, an American diver
- Barbara McCauley
Barbara McCauley is a popular romance writer. She has written over 35 romance novels for Harlequin Enterprises since 1991.-Biography:...
, an American romance writer
- Barbara Mensing
Barbara Mensing is an archer from Germany.-References:*...
, a German archer
- Barbara Nedeljáková
Barbara Nedeljáková is a Slovak actress, best known for her role as Natalya in the 2005 horror film Hostel.-Filmography:...
, a Slovak actress
- Barbara Nichols
Barbara Nichols was an American actress who often played brassy comic roles in a number of films in the 1950s and 1960s.-Early life:Nichols was born as Barbara Marie Nickerauer in Queens, New York...
, an American actress and sex symbol
- Barbara Niedernhuber
Barbara Niedernhuber is a German luger who competed from 1994 to 2006. She won two silver medals in the women's singles event at the Winter Olympics...
, a German luger
- Barbara O'Neil
-Career:O'Neil was born in St. Louis, Missouri. She began her acting career in summer stock. In July 1931 Bretaigne Windust, Charles Leatherbee , and Joshua Logan, the three directors of the University Players, a three-year old summer stock company at West Falmouth on Cape Code, were looking for a...
, an American actress
- Bárbara Palacios, a Venezuelan beauty queen
- Barbara Pennington
Barbara Pennington is an American Hi-NRG and soul music artist of the 1970s and 1980s.-Career:Pennington was born in 1950s in Chicago and began her musical career when Hi-NRG and soul record producer Ian Levine came to the United States in search of new talent for his burgeoning record label...
, an American music artist
- Barbara Rafferty
Barbara Rafferty is a Scottish actress. She is best known for playing Ella Cotter in Rab C Nesbitt between 1990 and 2009. Other notable television roles include playing Agnes Meldrum the pub landlady in Hamish Macbeth and Alice MacAllister in The Young Person's Guide To Becoming A Rock Star. Also,...
, a Scottish actress
- Barbara Schett
Barbara Schett Eagle is a former Austrian tennis player, who reached her highest singles ranking — World No. 7 — on 13 September 1999. She ended her career at the 2005 Australian Open. Between 1993 to 2004 she played in 48 games for the Austria Fed Cup team, winning 30...
, an Austrian tennis player
- Barbara Stanwyck
Barbara Stanwyck was an American actress, a star of film and television, known during her 60-year career as a consummate and versatile professional with a strong screen presence, and a favorite of directors such as Cecil B. DeMille, Fritz Lang and Frank Capra...
, an American actress
- Barbra Streisand
Barbra Joan Streisand is an American singer, film and theatre actress. She has also achieved note as a composer, liberal political activist, film producer, and film director. She has won two Academy Awards, ten Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, a Special Tony Award, and a Peabody all by the age of...
, American singer and film and theatre actress
- Barbara Strozzi
Barbara Strozzi was an Italian Baroque singer and composer.-Life:...
, an Italian Baroque singer and composer
- Barbara Sukowa
Barbara Sukowa is a German theatre and film actress.- Work :Sukowa's stage debut was in Berlin in 1971, in a production of Peter Handke's Der Ritt über den Bodensee. Günter Beelitz invited her to join the ensemble of the Darmstädt National Theatre in the same year...
, a German actress
- Barbara Traub
Barbara Traub is an American photographer who was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland. Several years after graduating from Johns Hopkins, she went to art school in Italy for a semester with the intention of doing painting and drawing, but at the last minute was loaned a Leica and decided that...
, an American photographer
- Barbara Wagner
Barbara Aileen Wagner is a former Canadian figure skater. She competed in pairs with Robert Paul. The couple captured five Canadian titles and four world titles, and capped their career by winning the gold medal at the 1960 Winter Olympics...
, a Canadian figure skater
- Barbara Walters
Barbara Jill Walters is an American journalist, writer, and media personality who has hosted morning television shows , the evening news magazine , and co-anchor of ABC Evening News and correspondent on World News .Walters was first known as a popular TV morning news anchor for over 10 years on...
, an American journalist
- Barbara Ward
Barbara Mary Ward , in later life Baroness Jackson of Lodsworth, was a British economist and writer interested in the problems of developing countries. She urged Western governments to share their prosperity with the rest of the world and in the 1960s turned her attention to environmental...
, a British economist and writer
- Barbara Windsor
Barbara Windsor, MBE is an English actress. Her best known roles are in the Carry On films and as Peggy Mitchell in the BBC soap opera EastEnders; she is now considered by many to be something of a British national institution.-Early life:Born in Shoreditch, London in 1937, Windsor was the only...
, a British comedy and soap opera actress
Songs about Barbara
- Barbara Ann
"Barbara Ann" is a song written by Fred Fassert and performed by The Regents in 1961. The recording reached a peak position of #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 record chart....
by Fred FassertFred Fassert is most famously known as the writer of the popular song "Barbara Ann," which was originally written for the band that he was in at the time, The Regents, and was covered by the Beach Boys and other artists as well...
, performed by The Beach BoysThe Beach Boys are an American rock band. Formed in 1961, the group gained popularity for its close vocal harmonies and lyrics reflecting a Southern California youth culture of cars, surfing, and romance...
in the album Beach Boys' Party!Beach Boys' Party! is an album of cover songs by American rock and roll band The Beach Boys that was marketed during the lucrative Christmas season. The original album release included a sheet of photographs of the band 'appearing' to be at the party at hand. It was The Beach Boys' eleventh album...