While searching through some German history web pages trying to come up with an interesting AKC name for the new pup, I found the history of my own name. Read on…This could possibly explain my complete hysteria during thunderstorms.

Barbara
The Name and the Legend
The Name
The name “Barbara” comes from the Greek (barbaros) and Latin (barbarus, -a, -um) words for foreign (later: rough, barbaric). The name was first made popular in Europe through the veneration of Barbara of Nicomedia, a legendary holy figure (see below) said to have been martyred in 306. Her legend, however, did not emerge until at least the 7th century. Her name became popular in German (Barbara, B?rbel), French (Babette, Barbe), Swedish (Barbro), Russian (Varvara), English and other languages. In 1969 the Roman Catholic church declared die heilige Barbara a non-historical person and took her feast day (Dec. 4) off the church calendar.

But, despite such setbacks, her name lives on. Although Barbara is not a fashionable German name today, the custom of Barbarazweig is still popular, particularly in Catholic regions. (See below for more on this custom.)

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