Barb

Where Barb comes from

The dictionaries list Barb as a given name — a diminutive of the female given name Barbara — but don't trace where it came from. The record below is what the SSA data shows.

Along the way
  1. 1938
    First appearance
    #3,847 among girls, 6 babies — the first year at least five got the name.
  2. 1954
    Barb Jungr born
    UK singer, songwriter and writer
  3. 1960
    Peak, #440
    493 babies named Barb — more than any year before or since.
  4. 1964
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births — down to #682.
  5. 1979
    Barb Honchak born
    American martial artist
In the dictionary
  • A diminutive of the female given name Barbara.
Namesakes
  • Barb Jungr · UK singer, songwriter and writer, born 1954
  • Barb Honchak · American martial artist, born 1979
  • Barb Higgins · Canadian journalist, born 1962
  • Barb Miller · Canadian politician, born 1950
  • Barb Lockhart · American speed skater, born 1941

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.