Barbara
Barbara is a female given name: 99% of people named Barbara are women, and it is recorded as female in 22 of the 22 countries covered.
Barbara · Bárbara
- Verdict
- Female
- Male / female split
- 1% male / 99% female
- Confidence
- High (64 or more weighted country observations)
- Most common in
- United States, Poland, Austria
- Also spelled
- Bárbara
- US births since 1880
- 4,136 male / 1,434,060 female
- Data
- nam_dict (GFDL) + US SSA
- Updated
- 2026-09-11
How to address Barbara
When you do not know their gender for certain, the full name with no title is the safe choice: "Dear Barbara," in English, "Guten Tag Barbara," in German. Barbara is a female given name: about 99% of people named Barbara are women. A quick look at a profile confirms it for certain.
Ready-made greetings in six languages
English
Dear Barbara,
German
Guten Tag Barbara,
French
Bonjour Barbara,
Spanish
Estimado/a Barbara:
Chinese
Barbara您好：
Japanese
Barbara様
English
Hi Barbara,
German
Hi Barbara,
French
Salut Barbara,
Spanish
Hola Barbara,
Chinese
Barbara你好：
Japanese
Barbaraさん
This is a statistical estimate, not a statement about the gender, identity or correct form of address of any particular person.
Country breakdown
| Country | How common | Usually | Male share |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | very common | woman's name | 0% |
| Poland | very common | woman's name | 2% |
| Austria | common | woman's name | 2% |
| Switzerland | common | woman's name | 2% |
| Germany | common | woman's name | 2% |
| Great Britain | common | woman's name | 2% |
| Slovenia | common | woman's name | 2% |
| East Frisia | uncommon | woman's name | 2% |
| Croatia | uncommon | woman's name | 2% |
| Italy | uncommon | woman's name | 2% |
| Belgium | uncommon | woman's name | 2% |
| Ireland | uncommon | woman's name | 2% |
Show all 22 countries
| Country | How common | Usually | Male share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Luxembourg | uncommon | woman's name | 2% |
| Netherlands | uncommon | woman's name | 2% |
| France | uncommon | woman's name | 2% |
| Hungary | uncommon | woman's name | 2% |
| Malta | uncommon | woman's name | 2% |
| Portugal | uncommon | woman's name | 2% |
| Denmark | rare | woman's name | 2% |
| Spain | rare | woman's name | 2% |
| Iceland | rare | woman's name | 2% |
| Sweden | rare | woman's name | 2% |
United States birth data
4,136 male · 1,434,060 female · 1,438,196 births recorded
Since 1980: 0% male.
Frequently asked questions
Is Barbara a male or female name?
Barbara is a female given name: 99% of people named Barbara are women, and it is recorded as female in 22 of the 22 countries covered.
How do I address Barbara in an email?
When you do not know their gender for certain, the full name with no title is the safe choice: "Dear Barbara," in English, "Guten Tag Barbara," in German. Barbara is a female given name: about 99% of people named Barbara are women. A quick look at a profile confirms it for certain.
Is Barbara a unisex name?
Barbara is not a unisex name: 1% of people named Barbara are men. Barbara leans strongly female overall.
Related names
Sources
Gender by country: nam_dict, the c't first-names dictionary by Joerg Michael, roughly 44,000 names across 55 countries, licensed GFDL. US frequencies: United States Social Security Administration baby-name data, public domain. Method: how we classify names. Full dataset: data & licences. Data built 2026-09-11.
DearWho, "Is Barbara a male or female name?", https://dearwho.vercel.app/name/barbara (accessed 2026-09-11). Data: nam_dict (J. Michael, GFDL) and US SSA, built 2026-09-11.
BibTeX
@misc{dearwho_barbara,
title = {Is Barbara a male or female name?},
author = {{DearWho}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://dearwho.vercel.app/name/barbara},
note = {Data: nam_dict (GFDL), US SSA public domain}
}