indicate the level to which a name has been verified.
Meaning & History
Habitational name from any of the numerous places named with Old English bearo, bearu "grove" or from Barrow in Furness, Cumbria, which is named with an unattested Celtic word, barr, here meaning "promontory", and Old Norse ey "island". Also a topographic name for someone who lived by an ancient burial mound, from Middle English berwe, barwe.