Barry - Origin and Meaning of the name

[ 2 syll. bar-ry, ba-rry ] The boy name Barry is pronounced as BAERiy ^KEY. Barry is used chiefly in the English and Irish languages, and it is derived from Celtic and Germanic origins. From Celtic and Germanic roots, its meaning is fair headed; spear; mound,dune; son of Harry. The name is of multiple origins. In Ireland, it could be an Anglicized form of the Irish name Bairre, which is derived from Fionnbarr, and of the elements 'fionn' (white, fair) and 'barr' (head), or else it could be from the Irish Gaelic 'bearach' (spear). In Wales, it could be from the place name of Barry Island, itself of the Welsh 'bar' (mound, dune), or else it could be from the surname 'ap Harry' (son of Harry). The name was first adopted by English speakers in the 19th century, popularized by the Thackeray novel Barry Lyndon (1844). It saw a boost in popularity among English speakers in the 20th century, especially in Australia. The name Barrie (English) is the female form of Barry.

Bairre (Irish), Baris (English), Barra (Irish), Barri (English), and Fionnbarr (Irish) are variants of Barry.

In addition, Barry is a variant of the name Bernard (English, French, and Italian) in the English language. Other forms of Barry include the pet forms Bas (English), Baz (English), and Bazza (English), and the variant spellings Bari (English), Barrie (English and Irish), and Berry (English). See also the related forms, Finbar (Irish) and Fionnbharr (Irish).

Barry is uncommon as a baby name for boys. At the height of its usage in 1962, 0.313% of baby boys were given the name Barry. It ranked at #61 then. The baby name has since dropped out of favor, and is today of very modest use. In 2008, within the group of boy names directly linked to Barry, Bernard (English, French, and Italian) was the most popular.

Baby names that sound like Barry include Barrey (English), Barri (English), Barrie (English and Irish), Babar (Urdu), Bari (English), Barra (Irish), Berry (English), Borja (Russian and Spanish), Borya (Russian), Bujar (Albanian), Bahir (Arabic), Bairre (Irish), Bar (Hebrew), Bario (Spanish), Baruj (Spanish), Bear (English), Ber (English), Birre (Scandinavian), Bohumír (Czech), and Bourey (Vietnamese).

Details of famous persons named Barry:
Actor Barry Williams, born 30 September 1954, Santa Monica, California.
Baseball Player Barry Bonds, born 24 July 1964, Riverside, California.
Comedian Barry Humphries, born John Barry Humphries, 17 February 1934, Kew, Melbourne, Australia.
Filmmaker Barry Levinson, born 6 April 1942, Baltimore, Maryland.
Media Mogul Barry Diller, born 2 February 1942, San Francisco, California.
Pop Musician Barry Gibb, born Barry Alan Crompton Gibb, 1 September 1946, Douglas, Isle of Man, England.
Singer Barry Manilow, born Barry Alan Pincus, 17 June 1946, Brooklyn, New York.
Singer Barry White, born Barry Eugene Carter, 12 September 1944 - 4 July 2003, Galveston, Texas.
US Senator Barry Goldwater, born 1 January 1909 - 29 May 1998, Phoenix, Arizona.

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