About the name Barnaby
Barnaby is the English medieval softening of the apostle Barnabas, and it has kept a bouncing, slightly comic energy ever since. It survives mainly in Britain and Australia, where it reads as posh and cheerful, while Americans have essentially never taken to it.
Barnaby is a boy name of Aramaic (via Greek) origin, pronounced BAR-nuh-bee. On the NameRarity scale it scores 89 out of 100, which places it in the very rare band — a genuinely uncommon pick — most people have never met anyone with this name. Its strongest period was the 1970s.
Name facts at a glance
How popular is Barnaby?
Barnaby currently falls outside the US top 1,000, which is a large part of why it scores so highly for rarity. Roughly 2.8 people per million carry it — about 1 in 357,143. In a school of 1,000 pupils you would expect not to find a single one.
Famous people named Barnaby
- Barnaby JoyceAustralian politician and former Deputy Prime Minister
Spellings and variants of Barnaby
Names similar to Barnaby
Karna
KAR-nah
Ear; the sun-born warrior of the Mahabharata
Aurelio
ow-RAY-lee-oh
Golden
Boris
BOR-iss
Battle, to fight
Casimir
KAZ-uh-meer
Proclaimer of peace
Harihar
HUH-ree-hur
Vishnu and Shiva as one composite deity
Janardan
juh-NAAR-dun
One who stirs and rescues people, an epithet of Vishnu
Mahadev
muh-haa-DAYV
The great god, the principal epithet of Shiva
Mahavir
muh-hah-VEER
Great hero, the epithet of Vardhamana, twenty-fourth Tirthankara
Barnaby — frequently asked questions
What does the name Barnaby mean?
Barnaby means "Son of consolation". It is a name of Aramaic (via Greek) origin, most often given to a boy.
How do you pronounce Barnaby?
Barnaby is pronounced BAR-nuh-bee, with 3 syllables.
How rare is the name Barnaby?
Barnaby scores 89 out of 100 on the NameRarity scale, which makes it very rare. Roughly 1 in every 357,143 people carry it — about 2.8 per million.
What is the numerology number for Barnaby?
Barnaby carries the expression number 9, known as The Humanitarian. Its soul urge number is 2 and its personality number is 7.
What is the lucky number and lucky colour for Barnaby?
The lucky number for Barnaby is 9 (with 18, 27, 36 also favourable), and its lucky colour is Coral Flame. The traditional lucky day is Tuesday and the associated gemstone is Bloodstone.