'barnstorm' originates from American English, formed by combining 'barn' and 'storm', where 'barn' meant 'a building for storing grain or housing livestock' and 'storm' meant 'to make a sudden forceful visit or attack.'

'barnstorm' developed in colloquial U.S. usage in the late 19th to early 20th century to describe groups that 'stormed' barns with performances; in the 1910s–1920s the term was extended to touring aviators who performed aerial stunts, and it entered wider English with the sense of touring energetically.

Initially it evoked the literal image of 'storming' or crowding a barn; over time it shifted to mean 'to tour or give energetic performances' and later 'to campaign energetically.'