What is the origin of my last name - Barber?

I want to know what my family background really is. A friend's dad told me Barber is Irish and it actually does mean "someone who cut hair, or one who did surgery" in old Ireland. I just want to know if anyone knows the most likely origin of the last name Barber.

What is the origin of my last name - Barber?
Have a look at the link posted below it actually says it's Scottish.


http://www.houseofnames.com/fc.asp?sId=%26amp;...


http://www.ancestry.com/learn/facts/Fact...


hope it helps anyway.
Reply:very informal survey of entries at rootsweb's family files...


199013 entries of the name


5972 from England


505 Ireland


443 Scotland


55 Wales


11 from France


10 from Germany


ACTUAL provable origin?? I'd say it is pretty speculative. On the other hand, if we entice you into basic research, it is solid information, methodically found, and going back to YOUR own Barber ancestor. Friend's dad is accurate in that many surnames come from such things as professions... but it is not a solid fact that I know of.
Reply:There is only one sure way to know your Barber ancestry and that's the tried%26amp;true research back in history one generation at a time - of your ancestors, not some scattershot at the surname.
Reply:your friend is right, a barber did do surgery back in the days of old before doctors!
Reply:Beware of coat of arms peddlers.





There are no laws in the U. S. regarding heraldry and there are companies that will sell you one solely based on your surname.


That is not illegal but it is dishonest.





Wendy %26amp; Genevieve's Mom gave you the best answers.





There was a time when people did not have surnames and one of the things they used was their occupation. Barber, Carpenter, Clark(clerk), Fisher, Miller, Baker etc.





You can imagine not everyone with the same surname comes from the same root as there had to be more than one barber.
Reply:Wendy hit it on the nose. There isn't a single origin of the name. House of Names only gives the Scottish definition of the name and lineage because that's the only one that was noble. They couldn't very well sell you a French crest when one doesn't exist. So they tell you what fits their purposes and leave out the rest.





There were many ways that people took their names, but their occupation was one of the big 4. We can't tell you that there is one man from 1271 to whom every Barber in the world traces their name. The name developed independently all across Europe and you need to follow Wendy's very sage advice to start your family tree and research back as far as you can to determine the origin of the name. You might be surprised and find that isn't even the original name and someone changed it along the way. But without doing the research, you'll never know that.
Reply:The origin isn't Irish - traditionally, Irish people followed the Celtic mode of not shaving any part of the head, except for monks who shaved the back. In fact the English colonists ran a law in the 15th Cebntury that all settler men shave the head above the mouth to distinguish them from the native Irish men who prided themselves especially in large moustaches and front fringes falling over the eyes.





In medieval times barbers also had duties as dentists and surgeons (bleeders), because they had the tools. That's why the traditional sign over a barber-shop, on this side of the pond anyway, is a pole with alternate white and red stripes.