Gilbert

German
"shining pledge"

Gilbert Origin and Meaning

The name Gilbert is a boy's name of German origin meaning "shining pledge".

Considered ultra debonair in the silent-movie era, Gilbert then went through a nerdy phase, a la Gilbert Gottfried. Now though, like Albert and Alfred and Walter and Frank, it could be in for a style revival.

Gilbert has always been on the US popularity list, reaching as high as Number 90 in 1930. The Normans introduced Gilbert to England, where it was common during the Middle Ages; it was the name of a 12th century English saint.

Gilberts have appeared in such books as Henry James's Portrait of a Lady, Lucy Maud Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables, and Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged, and on screen in The Incredibles and as embodied by the young Johnny Depp in What's Eating Gilbert Grape?. The most famous portrait painter of George Washington was Gilbert Stuart.

Nickname Gil could come back along with Hal, but even more appealing are Gib or Gibby.

# 960 in the US

Gilbert Rank in US Top 1000

# 744 on Nameberry

Gilbert Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Gilbert Popularity

Famous People Named Gilbert

  • (Marie
    Joseph Paul Yves Roch) Gilbert du Motier (de Lafayette), Marquis de Lafayette, French officer in the American Revolution
  • Gilbert Keith Chesterton
    English writer
  • Gilbert Charles Stuart
    American painter
  • Gilbert Gottfried
    American actor/comedian
  • Gilbert Jay Arenas
    American basketball player
  • Gilbert Burnet
    Scottish theologian
  • Gilbert Ryle
    English philosopher
  • Gilbert Fowler White
    American geographer
  • Gilbert White
    English naturalist
  • Gilbert Roland
    American actor
  • Gilbert Newton Lewis
    American physical chemist
  • Gilbert Sorrentino
    American novelist and poet
  • Gilbert Foliot
    medieval Bishop of London
  • Gilbert James Glenn (b. 2012)
    son of TV anchor Fredricka Whitfield and John Glenn; twin sister Nola Amanda
  • Gilbert Malone (b. 2013)
    son of choirmaster and TV personality Gareth Malone
  • Gilbert Melendez
    UFC featherweight fighter

Gilbert in Pop Culture

  • Gilbert Blythe
    character in L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables series
  • Gilbert Greenleaf
    character in "Castle Dangerous" by Sir Walter Scott
  • Gilbert Pinfold
    character in "The Ordeal of Gilbert Pinfold" by Evelyn Waugh
  • Gilbert Beilschmidt
    Personification of Prussia in "Axis Powers: Hetalia"
  • Gilbert "Gil" Grissom
    character on TV's "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation"
  • Gilbert Grape
    main character in movie "What's Eating Gilbert Grape?"
  • Gilbert Lawson
    character on TV's "Community"
  • Gilbert Markham
    character in 'The Tenant of Wildfell Hall' by Anne Bronte
  • Gilbert "Gil" Nightray
    character in the manga/anime "Pandora Hearts"
  • Gilbert Bingley
    character in "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" by J.K. Rowling
  • Elena and Jeremy Gilbert
    characters on TV's The Vampire Diaries