Barbare
A rare respelling of Barbara, from the Greek for "foreign woman" or "stranger". Only around 70 women in Poland carry this exact form, so most Poles have never met one.
Barbare Pronunciation
Barbare is pronounced bahr-BAH-re (/barˈbarɛ/).
What Barbare means
Where Barbare comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
Barbare grows from the Greek barbaros, a word the Greeks used for anyone whose speech sounded like babble to them, bar-bar. The name means foreign woman, a stranger, someone from outside the walls. The fuller form Polish readers know is Barbara. Its everyday diminutive is Basia.
The word marked distance, the person who came from somewhere else, born beyond the familiar walls. When it settled into a name, that harsh edge wore down. A girl called Barbara, or Barbare, carried the mark of the outsider as her own.
Saint Barbara gave the name its long life in Poland. Her feast falls on 4 December, and Polish miners claim her as patron under the name Barbórka. On a class register the name reads plainly, Barbara, shortened to Basia by the third week. Short. The root underneath does not change, the foreign woman, the stranger from beyond.
How many people are named Barbare
1 in 313109 women in Poland is named Barbare. 72 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #4221 among female names.
Barbare's popularity over time
Fewer than 2 girls were given the name in 2025. It has been climbing since 2025.