Philbert
Masculine · “very bright”
Philbert is one of very few names that has a nut named after it. The hazel crop ripens around one particular saint's feast day in late August, and English growers named the nut for the day, which means every bag of filberts in a supermarket is carrying this name.
How old is the name Philbert?
Philbert first appears in US birth records in 1913 — 112 years ago. The typical Philbert alive today was born around 1961, making them about 64 years old. About 500 people named Philbert are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Philbert most popular?
Philbert peaked in 1955, reaching #1611 nationally. See the whole 1955 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Filibert to Philbert
The story of Philbert
Philibert founded a monastery at Jumièges on the Seine in the seventh century and another on an island off the Atlantic coast, and he might have stayed a local saint except for what happened afterward. Viking raiders came up the rivers, and the monks who kept his relics picked them up and left. They moved inland, and then moved again, and then again, carrying the body from one refuge to the next across most of France over roughly fifty years, founding or refounding houses as they went, until they finally settled at Tournus in Burgundy where the abbey church still stands. The nut is a quieter memorial. Hazels ripen around his feast at the end of August, English growers noticed, and the name stuck to the crop.
Meaning
very bright
The name is Germanic and joins an element meaning very or much to the common berht, bright or famous. The reading is settled, and the same second element closes Albert, Robert and Herbert.
How the name formed
- Filibert
- Philibert
- Philbert
Related forms: Philibert · Filiberto
Pronouncing Philbert
FIL-burt
Two syllables with the stress in front. The ph is said as an f, as it is in every English word that carries it.
Nicknames for Philbert
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
- 1913
- Most boys named
- 195523 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1611reached in 1955
- Change vs 2001
- −16.7%5 in 2015, from 6
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.
Philbert in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Philibert in French — same name
- Filiberto in Italian — same name
Philberts among us
people named Philbert 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
Philbert 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
- Phil and Bert are both available as short forms and both are thoroughly familiar.
- The meaning is settled and documented, and the Germanic elements in it are shared with several common names.
- It is read correctly at first sight by everyone, even where the name itself is unfamiliar.
- The nut association is total for anyone who cooks, and filbert is also a shape of paintbrush, so the word turns up unexpectedly.
- It reads as a name of a much older generation in America, which is either the appeal or the obstacle.
- Philibert and Filbert are both in the record, so the spelling will be checked back with you.
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What they receive
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Philbert
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Philberts are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 500 people named Philbert are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Philbert in 2025?
- Philbert is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Philbert with classmates?
- Philbert will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More P names
The most-given names starting with P, all years combined.
Paul#262 · Patrick#235 · Peter#187 · Philip#527 · Phillip#651 · Parker#102 · Preston#299 · Pedro#455
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Philbert? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Philbert and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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