Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “Barbara” come from?

Barbara derives from Latin Barbara, from Latin barbarus, from Ancient Greek βάρβαρος, ultimately from the reduplicated Ancient Greek βαρ-βαρ, originally denoting non-Greek speakers.

Ancestry of “Barbara”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Hawaiianpalapaladocument; writing of any kind
2EnglishbarbaraA syllogism in which all three propositions are...
3Latinbarbaraa wild, savage, cruel, barbarous, shameless, or...
4Latinbarbarusforeign; savage; uncivilized
5Ancient Greekβάρβαροςnon-Greek-speaking, foreign; barbaric, brutal,...
6Proto-Indo-Europeanbalb-—

Words derived from “Barbara”

  • Barbie
  • barbara
  • 巴巴拉
  • 芭芭拉
  • barbika
  • барбика
  • барбика
  • barbie
  • Barbie
  • Palapala
Every word from Proto-Indo-European balb- →