Bairnfather Surname

8,968,613th
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 4 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
United States
Highest density in:
England

Bairnfather Surname Definition:

This surname is derived from a nickname. 'the bairn's father,' father of the bairn or child; v. Barne and Child; compare PrieStfather, which see. The possessive s is unknown in these early North English entries.

Robertas Thombame (i.

Read More About This Surname

Bairnfather Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States31:120,819,6441,331,040
England11:55,718,059489,080
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England101:2,437,53768,340
Scotland41:935,80421,348

Bairnfather Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

This surname is derived from a nickname. 'the bairn's father,' father of the bairn or child; v. Barne and Child; compare PrieStfather, which see. The possessive s is unknown in these early North English entries.

Robertas Thombame (i.e. Tom's child), 1379: Poll Tax of Yorkshire.

Johannes Wilbaroe (i.e. Will's child), 1379: ibid.

Johannes Barnefader, 1379: ibid.

Johanna Barnefadir, 1379: ibid.

Mary Barnfather, Cumberland, temp. 1620: WV.

1745. Married — Joseph Barnfather and Jane Grove: St. George's Chapel, Mayfair.

1770. — William Barnfather and Blix, Carthrel: St. George, Hanover Square.

1777. — James Banfather and Elizabeth Pellett: ibid.

'Mr. Bairnsfather's election to the Directorate was confirmed, and Mr. John Petch was re-elected auditor': The Yorkshire Post, Feb.

A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames (1896) by Charles Wareing Endell Bardsley

Probably from ON. personal name Bjarnvardr (from Biarnhardr. The final -r is silent). The genitive -s was probably introduced through popular etymology. Goods were stolen from John and Adam Barnisfader in Kelshop in 1502 (Trials, I, p. 30), John Barnisfadir in record in Haddington in 1506 (RSS., I, 1288), and Robert Bairnsfather witnessed an instrument of sasine in 1525 (Home, 35). Sir James Bairnisfather, a Pope's knight, prebendary of St. Giles, Edinburgh, in 1542 (Egidtl, p. 254), is mentioned again in 1553 as Sir James Bairnisfader, 'prebendar of Sanct Salvators alter' (EBR., p. 271). Adam Bairnsfather was resident in the parish of Chindilkirk (Channelkirk) in 1563 (Lauder), Robert Bairinfader is mentioned in Over Stitchill in 1590 (RPC., IV, p. 489), and William Bairnsfather is recorded in M'Kestoun in 1687 (Peebles CR.). Bairnesfather 1688.

The Surnames of Scotland (1946) by George Fraser Black (1866-1948)

The father of the bairn or child-a sobriquet.

Patronymica Britannica (1860) by Mark Antony Lower

Bairnfather Last Name Facts

Where Does The Last Name Bairnfather Come From? nationality or country of origin

Bairnfather is held by more people in The United States than any other country or territory. It can be rendered as a variant:. Click here for further potential spellings of this name.

How Common Is The Last Name Bairnfather? popularity and diffusion

The last name is the 8,968,613th most frequently occurring last name globally, borne by around 1 in 1,821,886,479 people. This surname is predominantly found in The Americas, where 75 percent of Bairnfather are found; 75 percent are found in North America and 75 percent are found in Anglo-North America.

It is most widely held in The United States, where it is held by 3 people, or 1 in 120,819,644. In The United States it is mostly found in: Louisiana, where 67 percent are found and Ohio, where 33 percent are found. Aside from The United States Bairnfather occurs in one country. It also occurs in England, where 25 percent are found.

Bairnfather Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The incidence of Bairnfather has changed through the years. In England the number of people who held the Bairnfather surname contracted 90 percent between 1881 and 2014.

Phonetically Similar Names

SurnameSimilarityWorldwide IncidencePrevalency
Barnfather951,006/
Barnfeather910/
Barnfathr900/
Bornfather861/
Brownfeather784/

Search for Another Surname

The name statistics are still in development, sign up for information on more maps and data

By signing up to the mailing list you will only receive emails specifically about name reference on Forebears and your information will not be distributed to 3rd parties.

Footnotes

  • Surnames are taken as the first part of an person's inherited family name, caste, clan name or in some cases patronymic
  • Descriptions may contain details on the name's etymology, origin, ethnicity and history. They are largely reproduced from 3rd party sources; diligence is advised on accepting their validity - more information
  • Name distribution statistics are generated from a global database of over 4 billion people - more information
  • Heatmap: Dark red means there is a higher occurrence of the name, transitioning to light yellow signifies a progressively lower occurrence. Clicking on selected countries will show mapping at a regional level
  • Rank: Name are ranked by incidence using the ordinal ranking method; the name that occurs the most is assigned a rank of 1; name that occur less frequently receive an incremented rank; if two or more name occur the same number of times they are assigned the same rank and successive rank is incremented by the total preceeding names
  • Ethnic group cannot necessarily be determined by geographic occurrence
  • Similar: Names listed in the "Similar" section are phonetically similar and may not have any relation to Bairnfather
  • To find out more about this surname's family history, lookup records on Family​Search, My​Heritage, FindMyPast and Ancestry. Further information may be obtained by DNA analysis