Explore the Family Name Barry
The meaning of Barry
1. Irish: Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Beargha ‘descendant of Beargh’, a byname meaning ‘plunderer’. 2. Irish and Manx: Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Báire ‘descendant of Báire’, a short form of either of two Gaelic personal names, Bairrfhionn or Fionnbharr, both meaning ‘fair-topped’. This may also be the source of the Manx name Barry, whose family’s main seat was Ballavarry in Kirk Andreas. 3. English, Welsh, and Irish (of Norman origin): habitational name which, according to the Anglo-Norman chronicler Gerald de Barry (Giraldus Cambrensis), refers to the Island of Barry, opposite the town of Barry (Glamorgan), owned by the Barry family by gift of William the Conqueror. In Ireland the surname mostly goes back to another member of the family, Philip de Barry, who took part in the Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland in 1169. His son William de Barry was granted baronies in South Munster by King John, and his principal seat was Castlelyons (Cork). Derivation from one of the French hamlets called Barri is unlikely, since they all occur in southern France, far from spheres of Norman influence. 4. English: nickname from Old French barré, Anglo-Norman French barri ‘striped’, probably in reference to striped clothing or to a piece of horizontally striped cloth worn around the helmet for identification in battle. The term barry came to be used in heraldry for a field horizontally divided by strips of alternating color. 5. Scottish: variant of Barrie. 6. French: topographic name from Occitan barri ‘part of a town outside its walls’, or a habitational name from any of hamlets called Barri, in southern France, named with the same word. Compare Bary 2 and Dubarry. 7. Altered form of French Baril and Barré (see Barre 3 and 4). Compare Barrie 3, Bary 3, and Berry 7. 8. Walloon and northern French: habitational name from Barry in Wallonia (Belgium). This surname is also found in the Flemish part of Belgium. Compare Bary 1. 9. West African (mainly Guinea and Burkina Faso): from the name of the Barry clan of the Fulani people, of unexplained etymology. History: Some of the American bearers of the surname Barry (see 7 above) are descendants of Jean Baril from France (see Baril) or Louis-Jean Barré from France (see Barre). Some characteristic forenames: Irish Brendan, Donal, Aidan, Ciaran, Eoin, John Patrick, Kaitlin, Kieran, Murphy, Aileen, Brigid, Caitlin.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Barry in the United States?
Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the popularity of the surname Barry has seen a slight decrease between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, Barry was ranked as the 691st most popular surname in the United States but dropped to the 738th position by 2010, a change of -6.8%. The number of individuals bearing the surname, however, increased from 45,044 in 2000 to 47,274 in 2010, a rise of approximately 4.95%. The proportion of individuals with the surname Barry per 100,000 people declined slightly, from 16.7 in 2000 to 16.03 in 2010.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #691 | #738 | -6.8% |
| Count | 45,044 | 47,274 | 4.95% |
| Proportion per 100k | 16.7 | 16.03 | -4.01% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Barry
In terms of ethnic identity, the Decennial U.S. Census data shows various shifts from 2000 to 2010. The proportion of those identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander increased by 33.33%, while those identifying as having two or more races increased by 10.48%. The largest ethnic group, which is White, decreased from 89.21% in 2000 to 84.47% in 2010. There was a notable increase within the Hispanic and Black groups, with a 43.10% increase in the former and a 54.32% increase in the latter. The American Indian and Alaskan Native group saw a slight decrease in the share of the surname Barry, from 0.41% in 2000 to 0.37% in 2010.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 89.21% | 84.47% | -5.31% |
| Black | 6.83% | 10.54% | 54.32% |
| Hispanic | 1.74% | 2.49% | 43.1% |
| Two or More Races | 1.24% | 1.37% | 10.48% |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 0.57% | 0.76% | 33.33% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0.41% | 0.37% | -9.76% |
Barry 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 Barry is British & Irish, which comprises 55.6% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are French & German (17.2%) and Eastern European (5.6%). Additional ancestries include Italian, Ashkenazi Jewish, Scandinavian, Spanish & Portuguese, and Indigenous American.
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| ANCESTRY BREAKDOWN | COMPOSITION |
|---|---|
| British & Irish | 55.6% |
| French & German | 17.2% |
| Eastern European | 5.6% |
| Other | 21.6% |
Possible origins of the surname Barry
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 Barry have recent ancestry locations in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Ireland.
| RECENT ANCESTRY Location | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Greater London, United Kingdom | 83.00% |
| Merseyside, United Kingdom | 82.80% |
| Glasgow City, United Kingdom | 82.80% |
| Greater Manchester, United Kingdom | 82.60% |
| West Midlands, United Kingdom | 82.10% |
What Barry 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 Barry is R-Y11179, which is predominantly found among people with European ancestry. Haplogroup R-Y11179 is descended from haplogroup R-M343. Other common haplogroups include R-L21 and R-U152, which are predominantly found among people with European and European ancestry. Other surnames with similar common haplogroups are: Berry, Smith, Martin, Thompson, White, Taylor, Brown, Wilson, Mitchell, Black.
The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Barry surname are: H1, T2b, H. These most commonly trace back to individuals of European ancestry.
Paternal Haplogroup Origins R-M343Your 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.
What do people with the surname Barry 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
Chocolate Ice Cream
Prefers chocolate flavored ice cream over other flavors.
"Barry" Surname 39.7%
23andMe Users 41.3%
Traits
Misophonia
When sounds made by others, like the sound of chewing or yawning, provoke strong emotional reactions in an individual.
"Barry" Surname 24.5%
23andMe Users 27.9%
Habits
Sugary Drink
Drinks one or more sugary drinks per day.
"Barry" Surname 18.7%
23andMe Users 21.1%
Wellness
Migraine
A severe headache characterized by intense pain, sensitivity to light and sound, and often accompanied by nausea and vomiting.
"Barry" Surname 16.7%
23andMe Users 16.4%
Are health conditions linked to the last name Barry?
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 Barry are shown below. Important Note: not everyone with a disease allele will develop these health condition