Barry Name Origin, Meaning and Family History

Barry Name Meaning: Possibly from the Old French "bari", which means a fortification of some kind i.e castle or rampart. Secondly Norman for O'Baire,meaning 'fair head'.

This name could be of scottish origin from the village of Barry in the former county of 'Angus'. First recorded spelling is that of 'Nest De Barri',dated 1185.

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Surname Distribution

Census frequency by county

Name Concentrations Within England and Wales

Barry Surname Statistics


Top Professions for the Barry family

Profession Census Frequency
Scholar 471
Labourer 120
House Servant 50
Tailor 42
Dress Maker 40
Servant 32
General Servant 28
Agricultural Labourer 26
Laundress 26
Carpenter 24
Shoe Maker 20
Charwoman 20
Coal Miner 18
Tailoress 17
Dock Labourer 16
House Keeper 14
Laborer 13
Boot Closer 12
Milliner 12
Dressmaker 11
Nurse 11
Boot Maker 11
Porter 11
Cotton Weaver 9
Wharf Labourer 9

Barry Surname Variants Ranking

Rank Surname Match Census Frequency
1 Berry 80% 161,236
2 Barry 100% 35,182
3 Bury 60% 21,182
4 Burry 80% 5,405
5 Berrey 67% 2,274
6 Barrie 67% 1,864
7 Brearey 57% 1,210
8 Bary 80% 730
9 Barrey 83% 559
10 Breary 50% 543
11 Burrey 67% 416
12 Berrie 50% 320
13 Barey 80% 314
14 Borry 80% 201
15 Burey 60% 156
16 Oberry 67% 145

Did you know?

The surname Barry is the 2nd most popular variant of Berry.

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