Explore the Family Name Barnard

The meaning of Barnard

1. English, Dutch, and French: variant of Bernard and, in North America, (also) an altered form of this. The surname Barnard is very rare in France. 2. Americanized form of German Bernhard or Bernhardt, and of German, Polish, Czech, and Slovenian Bernard. History: This name was brought independently to New England by many bearers from the 17th century onward. John Barnard was one of the founders of Hartford, CT, in 1635 (coming from Cambridge, MA, with Thomas Hooker). Another John Barnard, born in Boston in 1681, was a Congregational clergyman who served as minister of Marblehead, MA, from 1716 to 1770.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Barnard in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the popularity of the surname Barnard has seen a slight decrease over a decade from 2000 to 2010. In 2000, Barnard ranked 1681 amongst all surnames in the United States but fell to 1760 by 2010, marking a decline of 4.7%. Despite this drop in rank, the actual count of individuals with the surname increased by 4.35% during the same period, rising from 19,517 in 2000 to 20,366 in 2010. However, when scaled to proportion per 100,000 people, there was a 4.56% decrease, shifting from 7.23 in 2000 to 6.9 in 2010.

20002010Change
Rank#1,681#1,760-4.7%
Count19,51720,3664.35%
Proportion per 100k7.236.9-4.56%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Barnard

Discussing the ethnicity associated with the surname Barnard, as per the Decennial U.S. Census data, there were significant changes between 2000 and 2010. The largest shift was seen amongst those identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander, which nearly doubled from 0.32% to 0.63%. Those reporting two or more races also increased by 29.41%, from 1.19% to 1.54%. The percentage of people with the Barnard surname who identify as Hispanic saw a substantial growth of 53.66%, increasing from 1.64% to 2.52%. A smaller increase was noted in the Black community, which rose from 4% to 4.76%, marking a 19% change. Lastly, American Indian and Alaskan Natives also saw a rise of 13.79%, albeit from a small base of 0.58% to 0.66%. Conversely, the percentage of White individuals with the surname decreased by 2.59%, from 92.27% to 89.88% over the decade.

20002010Change
White92.27%89.88%-2.59%
Black4%4.76%19%
Hispanic1.64%2.52%53.66%
Two or More Races1.19%1.54%29.41%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0.58%0.66%13.79%
Asian/Pacific Islander0.32%0.63%96.88%

Barnard ancestry composition

23andMe computes an ancestry breakdown for each customer. People may have ancestry from just one population or they may have ancestry from several populations. The most commonly-observed ancestry found in people with the surname Barnard is British & Irish, which comprises 54.4% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are French & German (24.9%) and Scandinavian (3.8%). Additional ancestries include Eastern European, Italian, Spanish & Portuguese, Ashkenazi Jewish, and Indigenous American.

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ANCESTRY BREAKDOWNCOMPOSITION
British & Irish54.4%
French & German24.9%
Scandinavian3.8%
Other16.9%
Barnard

Possible origins of the surname Barnard

Your DNA provides clues about where your recent ancestors may have lived. Having many distant relatives in the same location suggests that you may all share common ancestry there. Locations with many distant relatives can also be places where people have migrated recently, such as large cities. If a large number of individuals who share your surname have distant relatives in a specific area, it could indicate a connection between your surname and that location, stemming from either recent ancestral ties or migration.

Based on 23andMe data, people with last name Barnard have recent ancestry locations all within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

RECENT ANCESTRY LocationPercentage
West Midlands, United Kingdom88.10%
Glasgow City, United Kingdom88.10%
Greater London, United Kingdom88.10%
Greater Manchester, United Kingdom87.90%
Tyne And Wear, United Kingdom87.40%

What Barnard haplogroups can tell you

Haplogroups are genetic population groups that share a common ancestor on either your paternal or maternal line. These paternal and maternal haplogroups shed light on your genetic ancestry and help tell the story of your family.

The top paternal haplogroup of people with the surname Barnard is R-CTS241, which is predominantly found among people with European ancestry. Haplogroup R-CTS241 is descended from haplogroup R-M343. Other common haplogroups include I-Z58 and I-Z138, which are predominantly found among people with European and European ancestry. Other surnames with similar common haplogroups are: Seal, Grace, Blanchard, Lowe, Lloyd, Shaw, Jarvis, Dodd, Rollins, Stephenson.

The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Barnard surname are: H1, T2b, H. These most commonly trace back to individuals of European ancestry.

barnardPaternal Haplogroup Origins R-M343

Your maternal lineage may be linked to Marie Antoinette

Because it is so dominant in the general European population, haplogroup H also appears quite frequently in the continent's royal houses. Marie Antoinette, an Austrian Hapsburg who married into the French royal family, inherited the haplogroup from her maternal ancestors. So did Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, whose recorded genealogy traces his female line to Bavaria. Scientists also discovered that famed 16th century astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus traced his maternal lineages to haplogroup H.

Maternal Haplo Image

What do people with the surname Barnard have in common?

Spoiler alert: it's complicated. People with the same last name are usually no more genetically similar than a randomly sampled group of people from the same population. That said, people with the same surname are more likely to have similar ancestries than randomly sampled individuals. The reason is the tendency of people with similar cultural or geographical backgrounds to preferentially mate with one another. That's why people who share a surname may be more likely to share traits and tendencies in common than people within the general population. Check out the percentages below to see the prevalences of tastes, habits, and traits of people with your surname compared with prevalences among 23andMe users.

Preferences

Barnard

Chocolate Ice Cream

Prefers chocolate flavored ice cream over other flavors.

"Barnard" Surname 47.8%

23andMe Users 41.3%

Traits

Barnard

Misophonia

When sounds made by others, like the sound of chewing or yawning, provoke strong emotional reactions in an individual.

"Barnard" Surname 30.7%

23andMe Users 27.9%

Habits

Barnard

Sugary Drink

Drinks one or more sugary drinks per day.

"Barnard" Surname 21.7%

23andMe Users 21.1%

Wellness

Barnard

Migraine

A severe headache characterized by intense pain, sensitivity to light and sound, and often accompanied by nausea and vomiting.

"Barnard" Surname 18.5%

23andMe Users 16.4%

Are health conditions linked to the last name Barnard?

The short answer is that, if there is an association between surname and health, it's usually more about your ancestry than your name. Individuals with a given surname are no more genetically similar than the general population but often have similar ancestries. The populations of people associated with those shared ancestries often have sets of genetic variations, also known as alleles, in common. Some of those alleles are associated with a greater likelihood of developing certain diseases.

Disease variant frequency by ancestry

Disease allele frequencies in populations associated with the surname Barnard are shown below. Important Note: not everyone with a disease allele will develop these health condition

Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Y402H variant

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most common cause of irreversible vision loss among older adults. The disease results in damage to the central part of the retina (the macula), impairing vision needed for reading, driving, or even recognizing faces. The 23andMe Health + Ancestry DNA test includes the two most common variants associated with an increased risk of developing the condition: the Y402H variant in the CFH gene and the A69S variant in the ARMS2 gene. Learn more about Age-Related Macular Degeneration

British & Irish 62.1%

23andMe Users 57.2%