Meaning and background
The story behind Barbara
Barbara is a long-established given name used in many European languages. Its ancestry runs through Latin to a Greek word referring to someone who was foreign or did not speak Greek. That historical meaning should not be read as a judgement about anyone who bears the name today. The name also has a centuries-old association with Saint Barbara. The usual British call is three syllables, with the first stressed.
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Everyday moments“Barbara, come here!”
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About Barbara
Recorded as a dog’s name
Barbara appears in 7 dog licence records in the 2026 New York City dataset.
How to read this count
These records cover New York City and may count the same dog in more than one licence period. They are not a national popularity ranking.
Pronunciation and rhythm
/bɑɹbɚə/
US English sound sequence, converted from the CMU dictionary. Stress marks are shown separately.
Stress on the first syllable in the recorded US readings.
Other dictionary readings and notation
/bɑɹbɚə/ · primary stress on syllable 1B AA1 R B ER0 AH0
/bɑɹbɹə/ · primary stress on syllable 1B AA1 R B R AH0
These are US dictionary readings. Personal, regional and other language pronunciations may differ.
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Sources and research notes (2)
Dictionary readings have 2 or 3 syllables.
- New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene NYC Dog Licensing Dataset — extract_year 2026 — Dog licence periods, not unique dogs; NYC only. No owner-level fields retrieved.
- Carnegie Mellon University / CMU Sphinx maintainers CMU US English Pronouncing Dictionary — US English dictionary readings; not owner-specific or exhaustive multilingual pronunciation
References support the individual facts shown. A source link does not mean the entire profile has been verified.