Meaning and Origin of: Barney

Boy name origins & meanings

  • Hebrew : Son of prophecy
  • German : Bold as a bear

Family name origins & meanings

  • English : habitational name from Barney in Norfolk, which is probably named with an Old English personal name Bera (with genitive -n) + Old English ēg ‘island’, ‘dry ground in a marsh’.
  • English : from the personal name Barney, a pet form of Bernard.
  • English : A William Barney from England came to Baltimore county, MD, in about 1695. Joshua Barney, born in that county in 1759, was an outstanding naval officer during the War of 1812.