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At a Glance: Name: Barack – Meaning: blessed – Origin: Luo (Kenya); Anglicized spelling of Barak, ultimately from Arabic – Gender: Boy – Pronunciation: buh-RAHK
Barack is pronounced buh-RAHK and means 'blessed' — it's the Anglicized Luo (Kenyan) spelling of Barak, tracing back to an Arabic root. You may have seen it described as a Swahili word for 'blessed'; that's a simplification, since the meaning holds up but the name itself isn't a direct Swahili term (Swahili's own word 'baraka' does share that Arabic root). It has a worldly feel, fitting for parents drawn to names with roots outside the most common Western naming traditions.
Meaning & Origin of Barack
Meaning: Blessed.
Origin: Luo (Kenya); Anglicized spelling of Barak, ultimately from Arabic.
A common claim: Barack means 'blessed' in Swahili — widely repeated in coverage of President Barack Obama. Actually: The 'blessed' meaning holds up, but 'Swahili' is a simplification: Barack is the Anglicized Luo (Kenyan) spelling of Barak, tracing to an Arabic root for 'blessed,' not a direct Swahili word (though Swahili's own 'baraka' shares that Arabic root).
Source: Wiktionary.
How to Pronounce Barack
Phonetic: buh-RAHK IPA: /bəˈrɑːk/
Popularity of Barack
Social Security data from 2007 to 2024 shows Barack peaked at #1977 in 2009, when 71 babies were given the name, before falling to #11068 in 2024 with just 6.
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration birth-name data, 2007–2024.
Make Barack Name Art
Free printable nursery art for Barack, pre-loaded below — pick a layout, palette, and font, then download a print-ready PNG.
Names With a Similar Story
Derived from shared style, era, and origin data (or, for names we have no style data for, a similar Social Security popularity trajectory) — not a hand-picked list.
FAQ
What does the name Barack mean?
Blessed. (Source: Wiktionary, https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Barack)
How do you pronounce Barack?
Barack is pronounced buh-RAHK (IPA: /bəˈrɑːk/).
Is Barack a popular name right now?
Barack peaked at #1977 in 2009 and is ranked #11068 as of 2024. (U.S. Social Security Administration data, 2007–2024.)
📊 How popular is Barack? See the full popularity history, trend data, and ranking since 1880 with our free Baby Name Popularity Checker.
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