Barnaby comes from the biblical Barnabas, from Aramaic and Hebrew tradition, meaning son of consolation.
Barnaby is the English form of Barnabas, an Aramaic name meaning "son of consolation" or "son of encouragement." Its New Testament bearer — the Cypriot-Jewish apostle who accompanied Paul on his first missionary journey and championed the young John Mark when Paul had written him off — established the name as one of generosity and loyal advocacy. Saint Barnabas is venerated across Catholic, Orthodox, and Anglican traditions, and his feast day, June 11th, was once marked in England by the old saying "Barnaby bright, Barnaby bright, the longest day and the shortest night" — a midsummer association that gave the name a warm, almost pastoral English character.
In literary history, Barnaby Rudge — Charles Dickens's 1841 historical novel set during the Gordon Riots of 1780 — gave the name its most memorable fictional face: a gentle, intellectually disabled young man accompanied everywhere by his devoted raven Grip. Dickens used Barnaby to explore innocence in the midst of mob violence, and the novel's sympathetic portrayal helped cement the name's association with kindness and an unconventional spirit. Grip the raven was reportedly the inspiration for Edgar Allan Poe's own raven.
Barnaby enjoyed a quiet but sustained presence in Britain through the 20th century and has experienced notable revival in the 21st, particularly in the United Kingdom, where it fits comfortably alongside Arlo, Reuben, and Rafferty in the current taste for warm, slightly bookish-sounding boys' names. It is a name with deep roots that somehow still feels fresh.