Each family connects hundreds of people to form an intricate pattern of ancestors and descendants. Our origins span the world, our families come from all religions and ways of life. The common thread of Heraldry links many cultures and establishes the foundations of a Surname before words were a common understanding and images demonstrated a basic understanding to the populace.
This page represents the following Surnames: Berry. Barrie. Barry.
Heraldry for every family is represented on each page as it has become available through out our research, as a tribute to the historical and evolutionary process that each family has survived. Name definitions are provided for each family as we find a connection to them, through intermarriage or discovery. Scottish, English and Irish families are represented with tartans, badges and other memorabilia as it becomes available to us. We’ve worked very hard at finding the most accurate and appropriate connections for each surname, if you see an error or have more information to add, please contact us via e-mail at CSGS@SnowStones.com.
Berry Name Meaning
‘Person from Berry’, a former province of central France (probably ‘Boirius’s or Barius’s settlement)
Also associated with Bury and Barry.
Berry Name Meaning and History
Irish (Galway and Mayo): Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Béara or Ó Beargha.
Scottish and northern Irish: variant spelling of Barrie.
English: habitational name from any of several places named with Old English byrig, dative case of burh ‘fortified manor house’, ‘stronghold’, such as Berry in Devon or Bury in Cambridgeshire, Greater Manchester, Suffolk, and West Sussex.
French: regional name for someone from Berry, a former province of central France, so named with Latin Boiriacum, apparently a derivative of a Gaulish personal name, Boirius or Barius. In North America, this name has alternated with Berrien.
Swiss German: pet form of a Germanic personal name formed with Old High German bero ‘bear’ (see Baer).
Barry Name Meaning and History
Irish: Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Beargha ‘descendant of Beargh’, a byname meaning ‘plunderer’.
Irish: Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Báire ‘descendant of Báire’, a short form of either of two Gaelic personal names, Bairrfhionn or Fionnbharr.
English, of Welsh origin: patronymic from Harry, the medieval English vernacular form of Henry, preceded by Welsh ap ‘son of’. Compare Parry.
Variant spelling of Barrie.
Barrie Name Meaning and History
Scottish: habitational name from any of various places, especially one in Angus, generally named with Gaelic barr ‘height’, ‘hill’, or from a British cognate of this word.
Berrien Name Meaning and History
French: regional name for someone from Berry (see Berrier) or from Berrien, in the department of Finistere.
Baer Name Meaning and History
German (Bär): from Middle High German ber ‘bear’, a nickname for someone thought to resemble the animal in some way, a metonymic occupational name for someone who kept a performing bear, or a habitational name for someone who lived at a house distinguished by the sign of a bear. In some cases, it may derive from a personal name containing this element.
Jewish (Ashkenazic): from the Yiddish male personal name Ber, from Yiddish ber ‘bear’.
Dutch: from Middle Dutch baer ‘naked’, ‘bare’. Debrabandere suggests it may have been a nickname for someone who wore ragged clothes.
Family Motto: ‘In Hoc Signo Vinces – L’esperance Me Comforte’ (In This Sign, You Shall Conquer – Hope Comforts Me)
Family Crest: 
Surname References from:
Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4
Encyclopedia of Surnames, John Ayto, A & C Black Publishers Ltd, ISBN 978 0 7136 8144 4
(Unless otherwise stated)