Diminutive of Barnaby or Barnard, from Germanic elements meaning 'brave as a bear.'
Barney functions as a diminutive of both Barnaby and Bernard. Barnaby derives from the Aramaic Bar-Nabas, meaning "son of consolation" — the name given to the apostle Joseph of Cyprus, one of the most generous figures in the New Testament, who sold his land and gave the proceeds to the early Christian community. Bernard, by contrast, is Old Germanic: bern (bear) and hard (brave), producing the meaning "brave as a bear."
Both paths lead to Barney, which manages somehow to carry a little of both — comfort and strength. In the 19th century, Barney was a lively, working-class name with an Irish flavor, often associated with the wave of Irish immigration to Britain and North America. Barney Google, the comic strip character introduced in 1919, became so culturally embedded that "Barney Google" entered British rhyming slang for "ogle."
Barney Fife, the bumbling but endearing deputy in The Andy Griffith Show, gave the name a particular lovable-underdog quality in American consciousness. The purple dinosaur Barney of children's television — launched in 1992 — introduced it to a new generation of toddlers, for better or worse. Today Barney is experiencing a quiet revival in the United Kingdom, where it trends toward charming and vintage rather than dated. Parents who want something friendlier and more spirited than formal Bernard, but with genuine historical depth, are rediscovering it with affection.