Barabas Family History

Hungarian and Spanish (Barabás); Polish (Barabaś); Czech (Barabáš); Slovak (also Barabás and Barabáš); Serbian, Croatian, and Slovenian (Barabaš): from the New Testament personal name Barabbas meaning ‘son of Abba’ or ‘son of the father’ in Aramaic.

This was the name borne by the thief whose life was demanded by the crowd in Jerusalem in preference to that of Jesus (Matthew 27:15–21). In central Europe, it came to be used as a personal name with reference to a reformed or repentant sinner, one whose life had been saved by Jesus's self-sacrifice.

The surname Barabás or Barabas of Hungarian origin is also found in Romania, where it is also spelled Barabaş.

In North America, the surname Barabas is also an altered form of the Polish variant Barabasz.