Bar History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
The chronicles of the Bar family show that the name was first used in the Scottish/English Borderlands by the Strathclyde-Britons. It was a name for a person who lived in Ayrshire, where the family was found since the early Middle Ages. It is generally thought to have been a habitational name, taken on from any of various place names in southwestern Scotland, in particular in Ayrshire and Renfrewshire. These place names derive from the Gaelic word barr, meaning "height," or "hill." 1
Further to the south in England, one of the early noteworthy people in the family was Richard Barre " (fl. 1170-1202), ecclesiastic and judge, [who] acted as the envoy of Henry II to the papal court, both shortly before and immediately after the murder of Thomas Becket. On the first occasion he was the bearer of a haughty and even minatory message from the king demanding that the pope should absolve all those who had been excommunicated by the Archbishop of Canterbury. Barre was entrusted with the custody of the great seal on the coronation of the heir apparent in 1170, but on the revolt of the prince in 1173 he offered to surrender it to the king. Barre probably succeeded Richard de Ely, otherwise FitzNeale, as archdeacon of Ely in 1184." 2
Early Origins of the Bar family
The surname Bar was first found in Ayrshire (Gaelic: Siorrachd Inbhir Àir), formerly a county in the southwestern Strathclyde region of Scotland, that today makes up the Council Areas of South, East, and North Ayrshire. "The surname is most frequently found at the present day in the district around Glasgow, and is a common surname in the Kilbarchan Commissariot Record. Atkyn de Barr was bailie of Ayr c. 1340. John Bar or de Barre was burgess of Edinburgh in 1423." 1
However, some of the family were first found further south at Tollerton in Nottinghamshire, England. "This place, which takes its name from Torlaston, one of its possessors before the Conquest, in the reign of Stephen became the manor of Radulphus Barre, with whose descendants it still remains." 3
"His wife must have been a De Lisle, for his son Richard, in one of his deeds, speaks of Ranulf de Insula, his grandfather, and Matilda Malebisse, his grandmother. Fifth in descent from Richard was Thomas, Dominus de Teversall (or Tearsall), who first called himself Barry, as the family continued to do till it ended with John Barry in the reign of Henry VI. A branch seated at Torlaston lasted about one hundred years longer. These Barres or Barrys were benefactors to the monks of Beauchief." 4
Richard de Barra was listed in the Domesday Book of 1086 as holding lands in Somerset at that time. 5
In Northamptonshire, William Barre, or Barry, of Great Billing, held one fee of Courcy in 1165. 6 Anger de la Barra was listed at Clerkenwell, London c. 1216-1217. Later John ate Barre was recorded in Sussex in 1283. Edricius de la Bartre was listed in the Pipe Rolls for Staffordshire in 1170 and William de Barre in the Assize Rolls for Staffordshire in 1199. 7
The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 list Gunilda de la Barre in Hertfordshire and Philip de le Barre in Huntingdonshire. 8
Early History of the Bar family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bar research. Another 124 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1170, 1173, 1202, 1551, 1554, 1565, 1590, 1600, 1612, 1686 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Bar History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Bar Spelling Variations
The origin of rules governing the spelling of names and even words is a very recent innovation. Before that, words and names were spelled according to sound, and, therefore, often appeared under several different spelling variations in a single document. Bar has been spelled Barr, Barre and others.
Early Notables of the Bar family
Notable amongst the family at this time was
- Richard Barre (fl. 1170-1202), an English ecclesiastic and judge who acted as the envoy of Henry II to the papal court, both shortly before and immediately after the murder of Thomas Becket. On the fi...
- but on the arrival of others of his party two, ‘qui minus habebantur suspecti,’ were admitted, and in the end the embassy was successful in averting the impending excommunication. Barre was entrusted...
Bar Ranking
In France, the name Bar is the 2,061st most popular surname with an estimated 3,046 people with that name. 9
Migration of the Bar family to Ireland
Some of the Bar family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 60 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Bar migration to the United States +
The persecution faced in their homeland left many Scots with little to do but sail for the colonies of North America. There they found land, freedom, opportunity, and nations in the making. They fought for their freedom in the American War of Independence, or traveled north to Canada as United Empire Loyalists. In both cases, they made enormous contributions to the formation of those great nations. Among them:
Bar Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
- Heinrich Bar, who settled in Lancaster, Pennsylvania in 1709
- Heinrich Bar, who settled in Lancaster in 1709
- Johannes Bar, age 40, who arrived in New York City in 1710
- Johannes Bar, age 40, who arrived in New York, New York in 1710
- Johannes Bar, Jr. who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1728 aboard the ship "Mortonhouse John Coultas" 10
- ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Bar Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
- John Bar, age 24, who settled in Savanna, Georgia in 1823
- John Bar, age 24, who settled in Savanna, Georgia, in 1823
- A Bar, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1851 10
- L Bar, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1851 10
- Joh Heinr Bar, who arrived in America in 1853 10
- ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Bar migration to New Zealand +
Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:
Bar Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
- John Bar, who landed in Wellington, New Zealand in 1842 aboard the ship Prince of Wales
Contemporary Notables of the name Bar (post 1700) +
- Heinz Bär, German fighter pilot and flying ace in the Luftwaffe, during World War II, credited with 220 aerial victories, awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
- Jean-François de Bar, French Brigadier General during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars from 1789 to 1815 11
- Simon Bar Cochba, Jewish leader in Palestine
Historic Events for the Bar family +
Bismarck
- Johann Bär (1922-1941), German Matrosengefreiter who served aboard the German Battleship Bismarck during World War II when it was sunk heading to France; he died in the sinking 12
Citations +
- Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
- Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
- Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
- Cleveland, Dutchess of The Battle Abbey Roll with some Account of the Norman Lineages. London: John Murray, Abermarle Street, 1889. Print. Volume 1 of 3
- Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
- Liber Niger Scutarii ("Black Book of the Exchequer"), containing reports by county on feudal holdings in England in 1166 (reign of Henry II)
- Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
- Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
- http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
- Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
- Generals Who Served in the French Army during the Period 1789-1815. (Retrieved 2015, February 11) Jean-François Bar. Retrieved from http://www.napoleon-series.org/research/c_frenchgenerals.html
- Bismarck & Tirpitz Class - Crew List Bismarck. (Retrieved 2018, February 06). Retrieved from https://www.bismarck-class.dk/bismarck/crew/bismarck_crew.html#crew_details