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Updated June 9, 2019

Family name origins & meanings

  • French : nickname for someone with a beard, Old French barbe (Latin barba).
  • French : from the female personal name, French form of Barbara.
  • German : from Middle High German barbe, the name of a species of fish resembling the carp; hence by metonymy an occupational name for a fisherman or fish dealer, or possibly a nickname for someone thought to resemble the fish in some way.
  • A man called Barbe, born in London, England, under the name <xref>Beard</xref>, is documented in Pointe-aux-Trembles, Quebec, in 1699. He was also known as Abel, Bear, and Buard.

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