Egbert
Masculine · “Bright blade”
The first half of Egbert is the English word edge, and it means the edge of a sword. Old English wrote it ecg and used it constantly in names, because a sword's edge was the part that mattered and a man described by it was being described as dangerous.
How old is the name Egbert?
Egbert was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Egbert alive today was born around 1925, making them about 100 years old. About 300 people named Egbert are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Egbert most popular?
Egbert peaked in 1880, reaching #465 nationally. See the whole 1880 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Ecgberht to Egbert
The story of Egbert
Egbert of Wessex is the man the lists of English kings start with, for reasons that have more to do with the lists than with him. He spent years in exile at Charlemagne's court, came back, took Wessex, and over a couple of decades brought Mercia and Northumbria to acknowledge him, which made him for a moment overlord of everything south of Scotland. That did not last, and the country he is supposed to have unified fell apart again within his son's lifetime. But he was Alfred's grandfather, the West Saxon line he founded did eventually produce a single English kingdom, and a chronicler writing later needed a place to begin. Being called the first king of England is a decision made about him rather than a thing he did.
Meaning
Bright blade
Old English ecg, the cutting edge of a weapon, and beorht, bright or famous. The first element survives in modern English as edge with no memory of the sword in it, and the second stands at the end of dozens of Germanic names. The compound is a warrior's name of the plainest kind and does not describe a temperament.
How the name formed
- Ecgberht
- Egbert
Related forms: Egbert · Egbert
Pronouncing Egbert
EG-burt
Two syllables with the stress at the front. The second vowel has been through the merger that affected bird and herd and is the neutral r-colored one, so the spelling records history rather than sound.
Nicknames for Egbert
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1880
- Most boys named
- 192147 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #465reached in 1880
- Change vs 2012
- +80.0%9 in 2017, from 5
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Egbert in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Egbert in Dutch — same name
- Egbert in German — same name
Egberts among us
people named Egbert are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Egbert sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- It is genuinely ancient, with a documented English line running back twelve hundred years.
- The meaning is concrete and can be given to a child in two words.
- It is spelled as it sounds and is unlikely to be misheard.
- It reads as thoroughly antique in English and has been used for comic characters for a century.
- Bert is the everyday form most bearers will end up with, and it is dated.
- It is still an ordinary name in the Netherlands, which is worth knowing if the family has a Dutch connection.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Egbert to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Egbert? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Egbert
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Egberts are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 300 people named Egbert are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Egbert in 2025?
- Egbert is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Egbert with classmates?
- Egbert will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More E names
The most-given names starting with E, all years combined.
Edward#224 · Eric#273 · Ethan#24 · Eugene#943 · Elijah#7 · Ernest#1038 · Earl#2230 · Evan#153
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Egbert? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Egbert and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle