Barrah History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Etymology of Barrah

What does the name Barrah mean?

The name Barrah is of Anglo-Saxon origin and came from when a family lived in West Yorkshire at Bareclough or Barneclogh, spellings used in the 14th century. Later known as Barraclough, records of the village or parish seem to be lost. 1

Early Origins of the Barrah family

The surname Barrah was first found in West Yorkshire, where the first records of the family were found in 1315 and 1316. Peter del Baricloughe, de Barneclogh was listed there at that time. Much later, Robert Bereclough was listed in Yorkshire in 1493. 2 This latter source believes the place of origin was near Wakefield.

Early History of the Barrah family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Barrah research. Another 119 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1561, 1588, 1608, 1612, 1626, 1631, 1690 and 1765 are included under the topic Early Barrah History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Barrah Spelling Variations

Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Barrah family name include Barraclough, Burraclough, Baraclough, Baracluff, Barrowclough, Barnaclough, Berecloth, Berrycloth, Baricloughe, Bereclough, Barrayclught, Beraclough, Barraclue, Baroclough, Barracliff and many more.

Early Notables of the Barrah family

More information is included under the topic Early Barrah Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Barrah migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia included the First Fleet of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

First Fleet

Mr. Uriel Barrah, British settler convicted in London, England in 1785, sentenced to 14 years for stealing, transported aboard the ship "Neptune, Scarborough or Surprize" leaving in 1789 arriving in New South Wales, Australia in 1790 3

Sources +

Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Convict Records of Australia. Retrieved 4th February 2021 from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships