This name is a good example of the different ways a nickname could use. In the Olde English, "Baer" or "Bera" can show a person who went about unarmed and defenceless or who resided in isolation and remained unapproachable to others. As a Lancashire placename, it finds its roots in Bare(grove) near a Lancashire township. As a geographic name then it shows anyone dwelling in or near a meadow or grove. The Priory parish in Cartwell, Lancashire was much used by the Bares in the past.
More common variations are: Beare, Barre, Boare, Barey, Barye, Barea, Bahre, Bareh, Baree, Baure. The surname Bare first found in Austria, where the name Barre became noted for its many branches with the region, each house acquiring a status and authority which envied by the princes of the region.
The very first recorded spelling of the family was shown to be that of Roger Bare, dated 1274, in the “Hundred Rolls, Suffolk. It was during the reign of King Edward 1, who was known as "The Hammer of the Scots", dated 1272-1307. Surname all over the country became a necessity with the introduction of personal taxation. It came to be known as Poll Tax in England. Surnames all over the country began to develop with unique and shocking spelling varieties of the original one.
Some of the people with the name Bare who arrived in the United States in the 17th century included Hen Bare, who arrived in Virginia in 1654. People with the surname Bare who landed in the United States in the 18th century included Jonathan Bare, who arrived in Virginia in 1702. Mark Bare, who landed in Virginia in 1714. Georg Bare, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1732. Jarrick Bare, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1732. Ulrich Bare, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1732. The following century saw much more Bare surnames arrive. Some of the people with the surname Bare who arrived in the United States in the 19th century included Samuel Bare, who arrived in New York, NY in 1816. John Bare, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1872. Hermann Bare, aged 27, who landed in New York, NY in 1879.