Barnes Genealogy and Barnes Family History Information

Surname Barnes

Surname Origin: English, Scottish, Irish

Definition: Of the barn (barley house), this British surname is often derived from a significant barn in the local region. A possibly alternative origin can be suggeste by the parish of Barnes in Aberdeenshire, Scotland which derives its name from the Gaelic word "bearn," meaning "gap."

There are multiple theories of the origin of the surname. It is variously suggested to be of Anglo-Saxon, Norse, or Irish provenance. According to one etymology, the name is derived from Old English beorn which means warrior, which is in turn of Old Norse origin. In another account, it was simply an occupational name for a person who works in a barn, or a topographic name for a person who lives near a barn.

Alternate Spellings: Barns and Bernes

Sources:

• Genealogy at About.com
• Wikipedia

There is now a project dedicated to this surname and its variants: Barnes Family Project.