Skip to main content

Updated June 9, 2019

Family name origins & meanings

  • Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese : from barbo ‘barbel’ (the fish), hence a metonymic occupational name for a fisherman or possibly a nickname for a man with a sparse beard, the fish being distinguished by beardlike growths on either side of its mouth.
  • Slovenian (from south central Slovenia) : unexplained.

Join the Family

Your partner in parenting from baby name inspiration to college planning.

Subscribe