Barna's birth name was Győző Braun, but because of anti-Semitism in Hungary at the time, he changed his name to a Hungarian-sounding name.

Later he became a representative for the Dunlop Sports Company and continued traveling the world in this capacity.

His brother Tibor Barna was the 1940 Hungarian table tennis national champion.

[2] In 1957, he published the book "How to Win at Table Tennis" (London: Pitman) ISBN 978-0-273-41699-9.

Barna was inducted into the International Table Tennis Foundation Hall of Fame in 1993.