Skip to content
Name Lineage

    The first name Ethelbert

    A boy’s name meaning “noble”, “bright”.

    3 syllables Male

    Meaning and origin

    Ethelbert means “noble”, “bright”.

    Revived from Old English Æþelbeorht, from Proto-West Germanic *Aþalaberht. Compound of Old English æþele (“noble”) + beorht (“bright”). Doublet of Albert.

    More names that mean light, noble.

    From Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

    Popularity in the United States

    Babies named Ethelbert at birth, 1880–2025

    In 1975, 5 boys born in the United States were named Ethelbert, the 5,735th most popular boys’ name that year. It was used most in 1916, when 14 were.

    01020 188018851890189519001905191019151920192519301935194019451950195519601965197019751980198519901995200020052010201520202025
    183
    babies named Ethelbert since 1880
    #5,735
    rank in 1975
    1916
    peak year

    US Social Security Administration, from applications for a Social Security card. A name is only published for a year when at least five babies were given it, so quieter years show as zero.

    Ethelbert in other languages

    Equivalent forms of the name, from Wiktionary

    Adalbert
    German
    Adalberto
    Italian
    Adalberto
    Portuguese
    Адалбе́рто
    Adalbérto
    Russian
    Adalberto
    Spanish

    Famous people named Ethelbert

    2 on Wikidata, most written-about first

    • Ethelbert William Bullinger
      British Anglican clergyman, biblical scholar and theologian (1837-1913)
    • Ethelbert Lort Phillips
      British naturalist, botanist and ornithologist (1857-1943)

    Questions

    What does the name Ethelbert mean?
    Ethelbert means “noble”, “bright”.
    Is Ethelbert a boy's or a girl's name?
    Mostly a boy's name: 97% of the 183 US babies named Ethelbert since 1880 were boys.
    When was Ethelbert most popular?
    1916 in the United States, when 14 babies were named Ethelbert, its highest rank at 2,078th.