Explore the Family Name Barra
The meaning of Barra
1. Italian (southern), Spanish, and Portuguese: topographic name from barra ‘bar, rod’ (in the sense of ‘barrier, sandbank’), or a habitational name from any of the places called with this word. 2. French (southern): dialect variant of Barre 1. 3. French: variant of Bara 4 and, in North America, (also) an altered form of this. 4. Altered form of French Barras 2. 5. Hungarian: from the personal name Barna, a short form of Barnabás, Hungarian equivalent of Barnaby. Some characteristic forenames: Italian Angelo, Marina, Antonio, Augusto, Biagio, Carlo, Domenic, Flavio, Gennaro, Lorenzo, Luciano, Rocco, Salvatore. Spanish Jorge, Carlos, Diego, Enrique, Jaime, Juan, Manuel.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Barra in the United States?
Based on data from the Decennial U.S. Census, the surname Barra has seen an increase in popularity between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, it held the rank of 12,851 but moved up to 11,865 by 2010, reflecting a 7.67% growth. The count of individuals with the surname Barra also increased during this period from 2,195 to 2,639, showing a significant rise of 20.23%. Additionally, the proportion of the Barra surname per 100,000 people saw an uptick from 0.81 to 0.89, marking a 9.88% change.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #12,851 | #11,865 | 7.67% |
| Count | 2,195 | 2,639 | 20.23% |
| Proportion per 100k | 0.81 | 0.89 | 9.88% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Barra
In terms of ethnic identity, the census data shows some interesting shifts over the decade. A sizeable increase was observed within the Asian/Pacific Islander community, where the percentage of Barras rose dramatically from 4.78% to 8.37%, signifying a whopping 75.10% change. A new entry in the ethnicity distribution came from those identifying as two or more races, which was at 0% in 2000 and jumped to 0.87% in 2010. Meanwhile, there was a slight decline in the White and Black communities holding the Barra surname, with the percentages decreasing from 63.23% to 55.67% and from 6.29% to 5.76% respectively. The Hispanic community saw a healthy increase from 24.05% to 28.72%, while American Indian and Alaskan Native Barras emerged at 0.61% in 2010 from a zero in 2000. This data is also sourced from the Decennial U.S. Census.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 63.23% | 55.67% | -11.96% |
| Hispanic | 24.05% | 28.72% | 19.42% |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 4.78% | 8.37% | 75.1% |
| Black | 6.29% | 5.76% | -8.43% |
| Two or More Races | 0% | 0.87% | 0% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0% | 0.61% | 0% |