Gilbert

Where Gilbert comes from

From Old French Gislebert, from Proto-Germanic *Gīslaberhtaz, from *gīslaz (“pledge”) + *berhtaz (“bright, famous”).
— Wiktionary's entry for Gilbert
  • Germanic
  • 2 syllables
Along the way
  1. 1757
    Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette born
    French general and politician
  2. 1880
    First SSA year
    Already #134 among boys — 101 babies in the first year on record.
  3. 1930
    Peak, #90
    2,119 babies named Gilbert — more than any year before or since.
  4. 1955
    Gilbert Gottfried born
    American stand-up comedian
  5. 1972
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births — down to #224.
In the dictionary
  • A male given name from the Germanic languages.
Namesakes
  • 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, 1875–1946
  • Gilbert Ryle · British philosopher, 1900–1976
  • Gilbert Bécaud · French singer, composer, pianist and actor, 1927–2001

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.