Gilberta
Feminine · “bright pledge”
Gilberta is the feminine of Gilbert, one of the Norman names that never went out of use in English. The same surname, said in the language of a Pacific nation, became the name of that nation.
How old is the name Gilberta?
Gilberta first appears in US birth records in 1897 — 128 years ago. The typical Gilberta alive today was born around 1928, making them about 97 years old. About 200 people named Gilberta are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Gilberta most popular?
Gilberta peaked in 1907, reaching #1512 nationally. See the whole 1907 chart.
Where it comes from
From Gisilberht to Gilberta
The story of Gilberta
A British captain named Thomas Gilbert sailed through a chain of Pacific atolls, and European maps called them the Gilbert Islands. In the islanders' own language, which has no separate g or l, and writes the s sound with ti, the Gilberts came out as Kiribati, and when the islands became independent they took that name. Gilberta, the feminine of the captain's surname, was given to American daughters by adding an -a, and nothing more is recorded about it.
Meaning
bright pledge, through Gilbert
From Gilbert, the Germanic Gisilberht, joining gisil, pledge, and berht, bright. Gilberta is a feminine form.
How the name formed
- Gisilberht
- Gilbert
- Gilberta
Related forms: Gilberta · Gilberte · Gilberta
Pronouncing Gilberta
gil-BUR-tuh
Stress on the second syllable.
Nicknames for Gilberta
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
- 1897
- Most girls named
- 191724 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1512reached in 1907
- Change vs 1972
- −28.6%5 in 1976, from 7
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.
Gilberta in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Gilberta in Italian — same name
- Gilberte in French — same name
- Gilberta in Spanish — same name
Gilbertas among us
people named Gilberta 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
Gilberta 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 has a clear meaning and a long history.
- Bertie and Gilly give two short forms.
- It is almost never given now, so it is distinctive.
- It will be heard as Gilbert with an ending, and some will find it heavy.
- People may write Gilberte or Guilberta.
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Gilberta
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Gilbertas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 200 people named Gilberta are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Gilberta in 2025?
- Gilberta is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Gilberta with classmates?
- Gilberta will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More G names
The most-given names starting with G, all years combined.
Grace#38 · Gloria#654 · Gladys#3211 · Geraldine#2438 · Gail#8362 · Gertrude#6546 · Georgia#99 · Gina#2076
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Gilberta? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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