Explore the Family Name Barbe
The meaning of Barbe
1. French: descriptive nickname for someone with a beard, Old French barbe (from Latin barba). 2. French (Barbé): adjectival derivative of 1, meaning ‘bearded’. 3. French (Barbé): variant of Barbier ‘barber’. 4. French: from a female personal name, French form of Barbara. 5. German: from Middle High German barbe, the name of a species of fish resembling the carp; hence by metonymy an occupational name for a fisherman or fish dealer, or possibly a nickname for someone thought to resemble the fish in some way. Some characteristic forenames: French Emile, Laurent, Andre, Gillis, Jean Pierre, Serge, Sylvie, Thierry, Yves.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Barbe in the United States?
Based on the data from the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname Barbe has slightly decreased over a decade. In 2000, it was ranked 21,192 and by 2010, it had dropped to rank 23,238, marking a decrease of 9.65%. The total count of people with this surname also decreased from 1,154 in 2000 to 1,097 in 2010, a drop of 4.94%. The proportion of the surname per 100k people also declined by 13.95% over the same period.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #21,192 | #23,238 | -9.65% |
| Count | 1,154 | 1,097 | -4.94% |
| Proportion per 100k | 0.43 | 0.37 | -13.95% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Barbe
The Decennial U.S. Census data also presents interesting shifts in the ethnicity associated with the surname Barbe. For those identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander and American Indian and Alaskan Native, there were slight decreases in the percentages associated with the Barbe surname between 2000 and 2010. The number of people with the Barbe surname who identified as Black also saw a decrease of 16.89%. However, individuals who identified as having two or more races increased significantly by 93.27%, while the percentage of those identifying as Hispanic went up by 48.22%. Despite these changes, the vast majority of people with the Barbe surname continued to identify as White, although this group did see a slight decline of 1.89% over the decade.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 90.12% | 88.42% | -1.89% |
| Hispanic | 3.38% | 5.01% | 48.22% |
| Black | 3.73% | 3.1% | -16.89% |
| Two or More Races | 1.04% | 2.01% | 93.27% |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 1.04% | 1% | -3.85% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0.69% | 0.46% | -33.33% |