The Barbour surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 14,451 people carried this name — #2,504 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 20,400 people counted. That is up 2% from 14,188 in 2000.

Look up another surname

Share

What the name means

The meaning of the Barbour surname

From Old French barbour; name was given to a barber.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Barbour» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as an occupational name: ‘the barber’.

An early record he cites: Alice le Barbour, Huntingdonshire, 1273 — Hundred Rolls.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 77 · public domain.

In the Nordic population registers

51 people named Barbour is counted in Sweden.

Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 51

Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).

In Scotland, 1880s

Barbour was 10 in every 10,000 names in Scotland.

That is about 1 in 1,000. Its home there, in Guppy’s words: “South of the Forth and the Clyde.” He counted the more than 20,000 names in Halliburton’s County Directory of Scotland, taking Scotland as a whole, and listed only the names that reached 10 in every 10,000.

H. B. Guppy, «Homes of Family Names in Great Britain» (London, 1890), appendix: alphabetical list of the most frequent Scottish names, p. 586 — public domain · names in Halliburton’s County Directory of Scotland, per 10,000 for the whole country.

In Scotland’s registers today

Barbour was recorded 48 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 544th most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 82. Each birth counts the child’s surname, each marriage both partners’ and each death the surname of the person who died — a yearly count of registrations, not of the people who live in Scotland.

National Records of Scotland, «Most Common Surnames, 2025» (published 26 May 2026): every surname recorded 10 or more times in the 2025 registers, and the series from 1975 · different spellings are counted separately — © Crown copyright 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

In print

Barbour in American newspapers,
1893–1903.

Newspaper page from Fairhaven Herald carrying the name Barbour
Fairhaven Herald 1893-01-13
Newspaper page from Evening Capital Journal carrying the name Barbour
Evening Capital Journal 1893-04-07
Newspaper page from The Courier-journal carrying the name Barbour
The Courier-journal 1903-08-27

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 10,395 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Barbour in Australian newspapers,
1820s–2000s.

30,734 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Barbour. The most, 7,322, date from the 1930s.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 11,685
Victoria 8,190
Queensland 6,070
South Australia 2,877
Western Australia 1,316
Tasmania 350
ACT (Canberra) 203
Northern Territory 13

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Barbour.

Who carried it

People named Barbour,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Elizabeth Barbour
    Elizabeth Barbour 1681–1743
  • Samuel Hill
    Samuel Hill 1691–1758 · politician
  • James Barbour
    James Barbour 1775–1842 · lawyer
  • Samuel Barbour d. 1710
  • Philip Barbour d. 1794
  • Roger Barbour 1301–1401 · politician

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Barbour,
in the records of 7 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States1,387 records

1,387 records of the Barbour name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 599
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 214
  • Other U.S. records 574
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record James Wesley Barbour

    Born 1949; from New Rochelle, New York. U.S. Marine Corps, rifleman; killed in action 1968 in Quang Tri, South Vietnam. Buried at Long Island National Cemetery, New York.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Donald C. Barbour

    Born 1920 in Massachusetts. Enlisted 1945 at Fort Banks Boston; farmer from Essex County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1999, buried at Greenlawn Cemetery, Salem, Massachusetts.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Jane Barbour

    Arrived at New York in 1885 aboard the City of Rome from Liverpool, aged 29; matron. From Glasgow, Scotland.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 1,387 records for Barbour in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia441 records

441 records of the Barbour name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 241
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 104
  • Other Australian records 96
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Robert Barbour

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Cornwall, sailing from Portsmouth in 1851. Native of Rothesay, Buteshire.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record James Barbour

    Arrived in Victoria in 1853 aboard the Abdalla, aged 15; Scottish.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Margaret Barbour

    Gentlewoman of London, Victoria; died 1923.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 441 records for Barbour in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

Canada99 records

99 records of the Barbour name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 40
  • City of Winnipeg cemetery records 22
  • Other Canadian records 37
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Robt Barbour

    Came to Ontario in 1879 aboard the Waldensian, landing at Quebec, bound for Paris, Ontario; Scotch.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
  2. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record George Robert Barbour

    Died 1978, aged 82; buried at Brookside Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

    City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg.
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Margaret Barbour

    Died 1920 in Pictou, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.

Showing 3 of 99 records for Barbour in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

United Kingdom42 records

42 records of the Barbour name in the United Kingdom
  • Stirling Council burial records 20
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 13
  • Other British records 9
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record Arthur Barbour

    Born 1880 at Morayshire; postman. Died 1917. Named in the Morayshire roll of honour (1921).

    National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Jessie Barbour

    Buried in 1971 at Snowdon Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland, aged 93.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Peter Barbour

    Will proved in 1937; of Newport, Monmouth.

    National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0)

Showing 3 of 42 records for Barbour in the United Kingdom.

Counts: Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain) · National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0); Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

New Zealand13 records

13 records of the Barbour name in New Zealand Christchurch City cemetery records
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Janet Barbour

    Died 1924, aged 48; buried at Bromley Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Catherine Barbour

    Died 1917, aged 76; buried at Addington Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record David Malcolm Morrison Barbour

    Died 1981, aged 57; buried at Ruru Lawn, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 13 records for Barbour in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

France1 record

1 record of the Barbour name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Justin Michel Noel Barbour

    Born 1895 in Saint Pierre en Martinique (Martinique); died 1967 in République dominicaine.

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Netherlands1 record

1 record of the Barbour name in the Netherlands Dutch population registers
  1. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Margaret Robertson Barbour

    In a population register.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Rotterdam (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Barbour.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Barbour is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

See the Barbour volume
Scroll to Top