# Gilbert (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/gilbert/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys |
| Origin | not recorded |
| Meaning | “pledge”, “bright”, “famous” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈɡɪlbɚt/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | Gil, Gibb, Gibbs, Gibson |
| Variant spellings | Gibbs |
| US babies named this | 130,821 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 130,148 / 673 (1% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 582, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

From Old French Gislebert, from Proto-Germanic *Gīslaberhtaz, from *gīslaz (“pledge”) + *berhtaz (“bright, famous”).

## What it means

Gilbert is grouped under famous and light.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1972 | 5 | 8,712 |
| 1973 | 10 | 5,302 |
| 1974 | 10 | 5,480 |
| 1975 | 6 | 8,334 |
| 1976 | 10 | 5,735 |
| 1977 | 5 | 10,129 |
| 1978 | 8 | 7,168 |
| 1979 | 10 | 6,350 |
| 1980 | 9 | 6,972 |
| 1981 | 7 | 8,413 |
| 1982 | 10 | 6,519 |
| 1984 | 8 | 7,622 |
| 1985 | 12 | 5,777 |
| 1990 | 5 | 13,717 |
| 1991 | 6 | 12,022 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 242 | 869 |
| 2012 | 201 | 991 |
| 2013 | 234 | 891 |
| 2014 | 241 | 895 |
| 2015 | 211 | 980 |
| 2016 | 215 | 958 |
| 2017 | 196 | 1,026 |
| 2018 | 166 | 1,154 |
| 2019 | 175 | 1,121 |
| 2020 | 164 | 1,175 |
| 2021 | 159 | 1,216 |
| 2022 | 162 | 1,218 |
| 2023 | 175 | 1,174 |
| 2024 | 135 | 1,389 |
| 2025 | 145 | 1,330 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 32 | 907 |
| 2012 | 29 | 977 |
| 2013 | 40 | 783 |
| 2014 | 28 | 1,012 |
| 2015 | 27 | 1,046 |
| 2016 | 37 | 858 |
| 2017 | 27 | 1,068 |
| 2018 | 21 | 1,235 |
| 2019 | 21 | 1,217 |
| 2020 | 15 | 1,548 |
| 2021 | 22 | 1,218 |
| 2022 | 21 | 1,268 |
| 2023 | 15 | 1,610 |
| 2024 | 18 | 1,460 |
| 2025 | 12 | 2,014 |

## In other languages

- Chinese: 吉爾伯特 /吉尔伯特
- Dutch: Gijsbert, Gilbert
- French: Gilbert
- German: Gilbert
- Hebrew: גילברט
- Italian: Gilberto, Gisberto
- Portuguese: Gilberto
- Russian: Ги́лберт
- Spanish: Gilberto

## People named Gilbert

- Gilbert Gottfried, American stand-up comedian (1955–2022)
- Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, French general and politician (1757–1834)
- Gilbert N. Lewis, American physical chemist
- Gilbert Ryle, British philosopher
- Gilbert Bécaud, French singer, composer, pianist and actor (1927–2001)
- Gilbert Arenas, American basketball player
- Gilbert Baker, American artist and gay rights activist (1951–2017)
- Gilbert Stuart, American painter (1755–1828)
- Gilbert White, 18th-century English priest and naturalist; (1720-1793)
- Gilbert Roland, American film actor (1905–1994)
- George Gilbert Scott, English architect (1811–1878)
- Gilbert, Duke of Lorraine, Duke of Lotharingia

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.