Bartholomew: Baby Name of the Day

The baby name Bartholomew traveled from the Old Testament to the small screen, and became obscure along the way.

Thanks to Christina for suggesting our Baby Name of the Day – and to Sarah for suggesting it be updated!

WHAT DOES THE NAME BARTHOLOMEW MEAN?

Quick – list the Twelve Apostles. There’s Matthew, Mark, Luke, John … and Bartholomew.

Bartholomais comes from Aramaic. It means son of Talmai. Talmai referred to a plowman – a farmer – but literally means “furrows.” Those are the grooves made by a plow. Sometimes the meaning of Bartholomew is listed as “son of furrows” which is a little curious, but it’s basically correct.

Some scholars speculate that he’s the same figure as the Hebrew name Nathaniel, but there’s no etymological connection between the names.

By either name, most accounts say that this apostle of Jesus Christ traveled to India, and later Armenia. Legend says that he converted the King of Armenia before being martyred.

BARTHOLOMEW FROM THE MIDDLE AGES TO THE WILD WEST

Like all of the apostles’ names, Bartholomew is heard across most European languages and across many centuries. You might think of:

• Portuguese explorer Dias became the first European to sail around the Cape of Good Hope. Christopher Columbus’ younger brother also answered to the name.
• Italian craftsman Cristofori made instruments. He is considered the inventor of the piano.
• English explorer Bartholomew Gosnold helped establish the Virginia Company in London, as well as Jameston. He’s among the leading figures in the settlement of Virginia. 

Variants include:

• Bartolomeo in Italian
• Bartolomé in Spanish 
• Barthélémy in French 
• Bartolomej in Slavic languages 
• Bartolomeu  in Portuguese

A lengthy list of painters, sculptors, historians and other notables from the 1200s onward suggests that this name was reasonably common over the centuries. There are at least seven saints Bartholomew, along with another dozen Blesseds. An early 1800s Italian saint answered to the feminine form – Bartolomea.

Not every bearer of the name made this world a better place.

Welsh pirate Black Bart amassed a considerable fortune raiding ships in the early 1700s. Born John, the bandit adopted his alias at a young age.

A second Black Bart robbed stagecoaches in the American West in the 1870s and 1880s. Born Charles Bolles, this Black Bart made his reputation as a gentleman, known for leaving behind poems after his robberies and never firing a shot.

SEUSS and SIMPSON

Dr. Seuss’s The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins was published in 1938.

Seuss set his story in the feudal Kingdom of Didd, where young Cubbins could not doff his hat to the king. Every time he removed it, another one simply appeared in its place.

Eleven years later, Seuss used the name again, in a sort-of sequel titled Bartholomew and the Oobleck. The 1949 story follows the adventures of a young boy rescuing his kingdom from sticky, green Oobleck, raining from the sky.

But that’s probably not the animated Bart that comes to mind for most of us.

The eldest son of Homer and Marge Simpson debuted on The Tracey Ullman Show back in 1987. The animated family quickly became a sensation, and remains the longest-running American scripted prime-time television show.

Bart Simpson is a figure recognized the world over. His full name? Bartholomew JoJo Simpson.

NICKNAMES FOR BARTHOLOMEW

One inescapable fact about Bartholomew: it’s a long name. 

That’s not necessarily a problem. Alexander has four syllables. Oliver and Sebastian come in at three, and they’re often used in full. 

It also helps that nicknames for Bartholomew abound, including:

• The obvious Bart
• Barry, favored by DC Comics’ The Flash, also known as Barry Allen
• Mies or Mees is Dutch – though the German architect Mies van der Rohe was born Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
• Bate, in the spirit of Nate
• Batt is a little winged, but not unwearable
• Tolly is sweetly antique and not unthinkable in our age of Ollie

The surname Bartlett, sometimes spelled Bartlet with a single T, comes from Bartholomew, too, and might share most of these nicknames. It’s from the French Bartelot, which was short for Barthélémy. (This makes it similar to Charlotte, which came from Charlot, a nickname for Charles.)

HOW POPULAR IS THE NAME BARTHOLOMEW?

Nancy lists this name as a Victorian favorite, reflecting names used in the US during the nineteenth century.

US popularity data from the Social Security Administration officially begins in 1880. 

The baby name Bartholomew ranks in the US Top 1000 from the 1880s through much of the 1890s, and continues to appear into the 1910s. But it’s clearly fading by then.

As of 2023, just 33 boys received the name.

The story of Bart is just a little different. Remember Black Bart, the one who politely robbed stagecoaches? 

A 1948 movie titled Black Bart told his story. 

Hugely popular television series Maverick debuted in 1957, at peak popularity for television series set in the Old West. Originally it focused on gambler Bret Maverick, but it quickly introduced his brother, Bart Maverick. 

More Mavericks – Beau and Brent, respectively, followed.  

The baby name Bart peaked at #291 in 1958, and continued to be popular for another decade. It gave Bartholomew a little lift, too.

After 1987, Bart also exited the US popularity charts. It was given to just five boys in 2023, making it even rarer than Bartholomew.

OLD SCHOOL OPTION

Plenty of us like our boys’ names traditional and heavy on the syllables. Just ask the parents putting names like Theodore and Benjamin in the Top 25.

Bartholomew is both instantly familiar and surprisingly rare. But with plenty of accessible nicknames, it’s every bit as wearable as many of the longer choices near the top of the charts.

If you’re looking for different, distinctive, but with history to spare? The baby name Bartholomew might be a fresh old school option that makes the perfect choice.

What do you think of the baby name Bartholomew? 

This post was originally published on March 18, 2009. It was revised on September 12, 2016 and March 3, 2025.