Meaning & Story
A classic feminine given name from the Greek "barbaros" meaning foreign or strange — later Christianized through Saint Barbara, it became one of the most popular names of the 20th century.
Barbara is a name that comes with a full life already lived. It was one of the most popular names in America for decades — there was a Barbara in every classroom, at every office, in every family — which gives it a warm familiarity that feels like a home-cooked meal. For a pet, Barbara suggests someone settled, reliable, and deeply comfortable in their own skin. There's a knowing humor to giving a dog this name, an acknowledgment that pets sometimes deserve the full dignity of a proper human name rather than something whimsical.