The Barr surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 44,130 people carried this name — #781 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 6,680 people counted. That is up 4% from 42,432 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Barr surname

As a Scottish Gaelic and Irish surname, from barr (“height, hill, tip”). As an English surname, from bar.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Barr» (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 a local name, from where the family lived: ‘at the Bar’.

An early record he cites: Gunilda de la Barre, Hertfordshire, 1273 — Hundred Rolls.

His entry covers Barr and Barre.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 80 · public domain.

In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890

Ireland registered 60 births for the Barr name in 1890.

Most were registered in Ulster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 2,700 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. The Registrar-General’s note on the name: “Antrim, Londonderry, and Down.”

Where it concentrates, on the map

Where they were born, 1890

Ulster 57
Leinster 3

Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.

In Argentina’s national register

At least 79 people named Barr live in Argentina.

RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Buenos Aires Province.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Buenos Aires Province 30
City of Buenos Aires 20
Córdoba 17
Misiones 12

RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.

In Switzerland’s population statistics

24 people named Barr live in Switzerland.

They live in 4 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Vaud.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Vaud 8
Zurich 7
Valais 5
Zug 4

Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.

In the Nordic population registers

95 people named Barr is counted in Sweden.

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

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 95

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

Barr was 12 in every 10,000 names in Scotland.

That is about 1 in 833. Its home there, in Guppy’s words: “Glasgow district.” 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

Barr was recorded 143 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 163rd most common name in those registers. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 234. 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 the first U.S. census, 1790

111 families named Barr, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 635 people lived in those households, 5.7 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 5 other spellings. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

Pennsylvania 48
North Carolina 19
Massachusetts 12
Virginia 10
New York 7
Vermont 5
South Carolina 4
New Hampshire 2
Maryland 2
Maine 1
Connecticut 1

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 228 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Barr in American newspapers,
1911–1916.

Newspaper page from Le Meschacébé carrying the name Barr
Le Meschacébé 1911-06-17
Newspaper page from The Glasgow Courier carrying the name Barr
The Glasgow Courier 1916-01-07
Newspaper page from The Glasgow Courier carrying the name Barr
The Glasgow Courier 1915-12-31

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 376,410 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Barr in Australian newspapers,
1820s–2000s.

85,759 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Barr. The most, 13,848, date from the 1910s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in South Australia, at 2.6 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

South Australia 26,635
Victoria 21,633
New South Wales 18,549
Queensland 10,666
Western Australia 5,161
Tasmania 2,733
ACT (Canberra) 241
Northern Territory 36

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

Who carried it

People named Barr,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Lindsay Barr d. 2009 · actor
  • John Barr d. 1915 · soldier
  • John Barr d. 1918 · soldier
  • John Barr d. 1918 · soldier
  • Marie Elizabeth Barr d. 1913
  • Mary Barr d. 1996

Wikidata (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Barr,
in the records of 9 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 States5,078 records

5,078 records of the Barr name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 1,654
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 955
  • Other U.S. records 2,469
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Edward Nasuesak Barr

    Born 1949; from Brevig Mission, Alaska. U.S. Navy, seaman; died in an accident 1969 in Go Cong, South Vietnam. Buried at Fort Richardson National Cemetery, Alaska.

    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 Gilbert C. Barr

    Born 1919 in New Jersey. Enlisted 1944 at Fort George G Meade, Maryland; laboratory technician. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1997, buried at Baltimore National Cemetery, Maryland.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  3. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record William Charles Barr

    Born 1932; from Camden, New Jersey. U.S. Marine Corps; killed in action 1950 in Korea. Buried at Beverly National Cemetery, New Jersey.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)

Showing 3 of 5,078 records for Barr 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. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · 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).

Australia1,884 records

1,884 records of the Barr name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 912
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 378
  • Other Australian records 594
  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 Mary Barr

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Aurora, sailing from London in 1851. Native of Chatham, Kent. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1855.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. 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 Alexander Barr

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Aurora, sailing from Downs in 1835. Native of Lanark, Lanarkshire. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1845.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Eliza Emily Barr

    Born 1879 in Hobart, Tasmania. Married 1902 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 22.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 1,884 records for Barr in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (CC BY 4.0) · City of Ballarat, Avenue of Honour Plaques (CC BY 3.0 AU). 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); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

Canada457 records

457 records of the Barr name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 248
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 44
  • Other Canadian records 165
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Go Barr

    Came to Ontario in 1874 aboard the Texas, bound for Malton, Ontario; English.

    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 Franklin Barr

    Buried in 1978 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 79.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
  3. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record James Allan Barr

    Died 1995, aged 65; buried at St. Vital Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

    City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg.

Showing 3 of 457 records for Barr in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · 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 Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Contains information provided by the City of Waterloo under licence. 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).

United Kingdom130 records

130 records of the Barr name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 58
  • Stirling Council burial records 55
  • Other British records 17
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record George Barr

    Buried in 1943 at Ballengeich Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland, aged 74.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record William Barr

    Buried in 1821 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 32.

    MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  3. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record W. Barr

    Lance Corporal, Royal Fusiliers. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1917.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)

Showing 3 of 130 records for Barr in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

New Zealand91 records

91 records of the Barr name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 73
  • Marlborough District cemetery records 13
  • Other New Zealand records 5
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Annie Simpson Barr

    Died 1978, aged 81; buried at Waimairi 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 Beatrice Annie Barr

    Died 1996, aged 95; buried at Omaka Cemetery, Marlborough.

    Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record William Ernest Barr

    Died 1997, aged 69; buried at Totara Memorial Park Cemetery, Thames-Coromandel District, Waikato.

    Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 91 records for Barr in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0) · Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

Netherlands35 records

35 records of the Barr name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch population registers 22
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 13
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Geertruida Elisabeth Bärr

    Married in 1915 in Amsterdam. Died 1955 in Soest, aged 68.

    Open Archives, Noord-Hollands Archief (CC BY 4.0); Open Archives, Het Utrechts Archief (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Andrew D. Barr

    Died 1870 in Vlissingen, aged 19; "scheepsjongen".

    Open Archives, Zeeuws Archief (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Zacheus Andries Bärr

    Married in 1921 in Amsterdam; shop assistant.

    Open Archives, Noord-Hollands Archief (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 35 records for Barr in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Germany17 records

17 records of the Barr name in Germany
  • Germany's First World War casualty lists, 1914–1919 16
  • German emigration and citizenship files 1
  1. A page of the German First World War casualty lists, 18 April 1918
    Example: German casualty list, 1918
    Casualty list Anton Barr

    From Schwei, Oldenburg. Reported missing in the Prussian casualty list of 20 February 1919 (Pioneer Battalion No. 18).

    Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0)
  2. The first page of an emigration file from Gündlingen, Baden, 1883
    Example: German emigration file, 1883
    Emigration record Johann Bärr

    Left Herrischried for North America in 1854.

    Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek / Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg (CC0)

Showing 2 of 17 records for Barr in Germany.

Counts: Verein für Computergenealogie e.V. (2026). Deutsche Verlustlisten des Ersten Weltkriegs – Datensammlung (Version 1.0), DOI 10.5281/zenodo.18330751 (CC0) · Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Deutsche Verlustlisten, Prussian list 1116, 18 April 1918 (scan via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0); Emigration file, Gündlingen, 1883, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Staatsarchiv Freiburg B 694/1 Nr. 1389 (CC BY 4.0).

France3 records

3 records of the Barr 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 John William Barr

    Born 1972 in Great Britain; died 1994 in Anglet (Pyrénées-Atlantiques).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 1 of 3 records for Barr in France.

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).

Ireland1 record

1 record of the Barr name in Ireland County Galway graveyard records
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record James Barr

    Died 1907, aged 67; buried at Clontuskert - St Matthews (CoI), Co. Galway.

    Galway County Council (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Galway County 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).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Barr.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Barr 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.

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