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Boy · Aramaic, through Greek
Barnabas
Say it: BAR-nuh-bus
Meaning
Acts 4:36 explains it as 'son of encouragement', but the underlying Aramaic is debated; 'son of Nebo' and 'son of prophecy' have also been proposed.
Disputedsharp disagreement, or a popular meaning that is not supported.
Used in medieval Europe; its English form Barnaby comes from medieval vernacular use.
Its wave through time
Rare in the records
In the United States
- 505 babies given this name since 1920
- At its height in 2017, about 1 in 76,900 boys
- 22 babies in 2020
Through the ages
- The Biblical WorldAbout 1200 BC to AD 100
- The High and Late Middle Ages1100 to 1450
- The Renaissance1400 to 1600
- Victorian and Belle Époque1837 to 1914
- The Modern Age1880 to today
Used by
The family of the name
Other spellings: Barnaby
| French | Barnabé |
|---|---|
| Spanish | Bernabé |
| Italian | Barnaba |
| Portuguese | Barnabé |
| German | Barnabas |
| Polish | Barnaba |
| Russian | Varnava |
| Hungarian | Barnabás |
Famous bearers
- Barnabas, companion of Paul in Acts
Names worth a look
Where this comes from
- The Hebrew Bible and the New Testament
- Calendars of saints and name days
- English poll taxes and lay subsidy rolls (13th and 14th centuries)
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
Meanings and histories are compiled from the study of names and their languages and checked by a second review.
Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.