Barnaby

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Boy · Aramaic

Barnaby

Say it: BAR-nuh-bee

Try it with your surname

Meaning

From Aramaic Barnabas, interpreted in Acts as 'son of encouragement', though the actual derivation is disputed.

Disputedsharp disagreement, or a popular meaning that is not supported.

Used in Tudor England.

Its wave through time

Rare in the records

In the United States

351 babies given this name since 1953
At its height in 1974, about 1 in 82,800 boys
5 babies in 2020

Through the ages

Used by

The family of the name

Other spellings: Barnabas

Aramaic	Barnabas

Names worth a look

FerdinandoBoyFrom Germanic, uncertain.Renaissance · forgotten

PiersBoyThe medieval English form of Peter, from Greek petros 'stone'.Middle Ages

GervaseBoyFrom Latin Gervasius, the name of an early martyr; the meaning is uncertain.Middle Ages · forgotten

BarnabasBoyActs 4:36 explains it as 'son of encouragement', but the underlying Aramaic is debated; 'son of Nebo' and 'son of…Biblical

AbsalomBoyHebrew Avshalom, 'my father is peace'.Biblical · forgotten

TristramBoyFrom a Celtic name related to Drust; the link with French triste 'sad' is a folk etymology.Renaissance · forgotten

BrianBoyUncertain; often linked to Celtic brig- 'high, noble', but the etymology is not settled.Early Medieval · peak 1973

BrandonBoyFrom an English surname from place names, Old English brōm 'broom (gorse)' + dūn 'hill'. It is not a form of Irish…Modern · peak 1985

Where this comes from

The Hebrew Bible and the New Testament
Parish baptism registers
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.