Meaning of Last Name

Barrett (sometimes spelled Barret or Barratt) is a surname that has been associated with several different people, places and organisations. It is a popular Anglo-Irish surname, both in Southeast England, and Southwest Ireland. It is most common in the Irish counties of Mayo and Galway as well as County Cork, and within England, East Anglia, especially Norfolk . The Gaelic version of the name is Barόid in the south and Bairéid in the west. The Barretts of Ireland first appeared following the Norman invasion, hired as mercenaries from Wales. As with many other Anglo-Norman families, they were quickly assimilated into Irish culture. As an English surname, it is thought to derive from an Old English word meaning "quarrelsome" or "deceitful", or from a corruption of the Norman personal name Barnard, Bernhard or Berold. Another translation for Barrett is "warlike people."