How common is the surname Barbara?

2,986 people in the United States had the surname Barbara in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 103,398 Americans. It ranked 10,704th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Barbara?

Vanessa Barbara, Brazilian writer, followed by Emanuel Barbara.

Where is the surname Barbara most common?

Wikidata records people named Barbara in Brazil and Crown Colony of Malta.

Is the surname Barbara getting more or less common?

More common. 2,790 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 2,986 in 2010, up 7.0%.

Is Barbara also a first name?

Yes. Barbara is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.

The surname Barbara

A surname, carried by 2,986 people in the United States.

3 syllables Soundex B616 Also a first name

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Barbara is more common than 93.4% of them.

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 2,986 people named Barbara in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 103,398 Americans. That is up 7.0% since 2000, when the Census counted 2,790.

#10,704

rank among US surnames

2,986

people in 2010

1.0

per 100,000 Americans

+7%

change since 2000 (was #10,548)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#10,697	Zellers	2,988	103,328
#10,701	Lamkin	2,987	103,363
#10,704	Rugg	2,986	103,398
#10,706	Wardlow	2,985	103,432
#10,708	Ricard	2,984	103,467
#10,711	Shute	2,983	103,502

Who is named Barbara

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

79% of people named Barbara identified as white (not Hispanic), 8.8% as Black (not Hispanic) and 8.7% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 79%
Black (not Hispanic) 8.8%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 8.7%
Asian and Pacific Islander 1.9%
Two or more races 1.4%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.4%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Barbaras

2 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Vanessa Barbara
Brazilian writer, born 1982
Emanuel Barbara
Bishop of Malindi, of Maltese origin (1949-2018)

Notable Barbaras come mostly from Brazil (1) and Crown Colony of Malta (1).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Barbara

Barbara has the Soundex code B616, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code B616.

Questions

How common is the surname Barbara?: 2,986 people in the United States had the surname Barbara in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 103,398 Americans. It ranked 10,704th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Barbara?: In the 2010 Census, 79% of people named Barbara identified as white (not Hispanic), and 8.8% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Barbara?: Vanessa Barbara, Brazilian writer, followed by Emanuel Barbara.
Where is the surname Barbara most common?: Wikidata records people named Barbara in Brazil and Crown Colony of Malta.
Is the surname Barbara getting more or less common?: More common. 2,790 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 2,986 in 2010, up 7.0%.
Is Barbara also a first name?: Yes. Barbara is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.