Updated June 9, 2019

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Family name origins & meanings

  • Greek : from a term of address, barbas, indicating either respect for an older man or friendly familiarity, from Italian barba ‘uncle’, ‘man with a beard’ (see Barba). It may also be a reduced form of surnames beginning with Barba, for example Barbagiannis ‘Uncle John’.
  • Portuguese and Spanish : from the plural of barba ‘bearded’ (Latin barba ‘beard’), a nickname for a bearded man.
  • Hungarian (Barbás) : see Barabas.