Gilbert (given name)

Gilbert is a given name of Norman-French origin,^[1] itself from Germanic Gisilberht or Gisalberht.^[2][3] Original spellings included Gislebert, Guilbert and Gilebert. The first element, Gil-, comes from Germanic gīsil, meaning "shaft of an arrow" or gisal "pledge, hostage", while the second element, -bert comes from Germanic -behrt, short form of beraht, meaning "bright" or "famous".^[4][5] The name spread in France and was introduced to England by the Normans, where it was popular during the Middle Ages.

Gilbert

Stained glass of Gilbert de Moravia
Pronunciation	/ˈɡɪlbɜːrt/ French: [ʒil.bɛʁ]
Gender	Male
Origin
Word/name	Norman-French
Meaning	gisel + beraht
Other names
Related names	Gilberto, Gilberte, Gil

Variant spellings have evolved throughout Europe, including the Iberian/Italian version Gilberto and, as was the custom across Europe, given a Latin language version Gilbertus, to be used alongside a person's native variant. The diminutives Gil, Gillie and Bert eventually became popular as a standalone given name or nickname. Gilberte is the feminized version of the name. Gilbert, with variant spellings, is also used as a surname (see Gilbert (surname)).

Translations

• Arabic: غيلبرت
• Belarusian: Гілберт (Hilbiert)
• Bengali: গিলবার্ট (Gilabārṭa)
• Chinese Simplified: 吉尔伯特 (Jí'ěr bó tè)
• Chinese Traditional: 吉爾伯特 (Jí'ěr bó tè)
• English: Gilbert
• French: Gilbert
• German: Gilbert
• Gujarati: ગિલ્બર્ટ (Gilbarṭa)
• Hebrew: גילברט
• Hindi: गिल्बर्ट (Gilbarṭ)
• Indonesian: Gilbert
• Italian: Gilberto
• Japanese: ギルバート (Girubāto)
• Kannada: ಗಿಲ್ಬರ್ಟ್ (Gilbarṭ)
• Korean: 길버트 (Gilbeoteu)
• Lithuanian: Gilbertas
• Macedonian: Гилберт
• Marathi: गिल्बर्ट (Gilbarṭa)
• Mongolian: Гилберт (Gilbyert)
• Nepali: गिल्बर्ट (Gilbarṭa)
• Persian: گیلبرت
• Portuguese: Gilberto
• Russian: Гилберт
• Serbo-Croatian: Gìlbert / Гѝлберт
• Sinhala: ගිල්බට් (Gilbaṭ), ගිල්බාතු (Gilbātu)
• Spanish: Gilberto
• Tamil: கில்பர்ட் (Kilparṭ)
• Telugu: గిల్బర్ట్ (Gilbarṭ)
• Thai: กิลเบิร์ต (Kilbeir̒)
• Turkish: Jilbert, Jilber
• Ukrainian: Гілберт (Hilbert)
• Urdu: گلبرٹ
• Yiddish: גילבערט (Gilbert)

People with the name

• Saint Gilbert (disambiguation), multiple persons
• Gilbert (Archdeacon of Lismore), early 13th-century Irish Catholic priest
• Gilbert, Count of Brionne (c. 1000–c. 1040), French noble
• Gilbert, Count of Gravina (fl. 1159–1167), Norman French noble in Italy
• Gilbert, Count of Montpensier (1443–1496), French noble
• Gilbert of Glenluce (died 1253), Scottish, 13th-century Cistercian monk, abbot and bishop
• Gilbert of Sempringham (c. 1083–1190), the only Englishman to found a monastic order
• Gilbertus Anglicus or Gilbert of England (c. 1180 – c. 1250), English physician
• Gilbert Arenas (born 1982), American professional basketball player
• Gilbert Bécaud (1927–2001), French singer, composer, pianist and actor
• Gilbert Brown (born 1971), American football player
• Gilbert Brulé (born 1987), Canadian ice hockey player
• Gilbert Buatère, Norman adventurer, one of the principal commanders of Battle of Cannae (1018)
• Gilbert Bundy (1911–1955), American cartoonist and illustrator
• Sir Gilbert Thomas Carter, administrative officer in the Royal Navy and a colonial official for the British Empire, administrator for Gambia, governor for the Lagos Colony, governor for The Bahamas and Barbados and governor for Trinidad and Tobago
• Gilbert Cates (1934–2011), American film director and television producer
• Gilbert Cavan (died 1420), Scottish cleric
• G. K. Chesterton (Gilbert Keith Chesterton, 1874–1936), English writer
• Gilbert Crispin (c. 1055–1117), Anglo-Norman monk appointed abbot, proctor, and servant of Westminster Abbey
• Gilbert Cruz (born 1980), Puerto Rican professional wrestler
• Gilbert de Beauregard Robinson (1906–1992), Canadian mathematician
• Gilbert de Chambrun (1909–2009), French politician
• Gilbert de Clare, 1st Earl of Pembroke (c. 1100–1148), Anglo-Norman earl
• Gilbert de la Porrée or Gilbertus Porretanus (1070–1154), French scholastic logician and theologian
• Gilbert Doucet (1956–2020), French rugby union player
• Gilbert Dragon (1969–2021), Haitian police chief and guerrilla leader
• Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette (1757–1834), French general and politician who fought in the American Revolution and was involved in the French Revolution
• Gilbert Eisner, American fencer
• Gilbert John Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 4th Earl of Minto, British peer and politician who served as Governor General of Canada, the eighth since Canadian Confederation, and as Viceroy and 17th Governor-General of India
• Gilbert Franklin (1919–2004), American sculptor, educator.
• Gilbert Gottfried (1955–2022), American actor and stand-up comedian
• Gilbert Greenall (born 1954), UN humanitarian advisor
• Gilbert Gress (born 1941), French football coach and former football player
• Gil Hodges (1924–1972), American baseball player
• Gilbert von In der Maur (1887–1959), Austrian SS leader and journalist
• Gilbert Khunwane (born 1977), Batswana boxer
• Gilbert Levin (1924–2021), American engineer
• Gilbert Mamery (1927–2003), Puerto Rican disc-jockey, musicologist, radio station owner, radio and television personality, marketing impresario, and composer
• Gilbert Marouani (1933–2016), Tunisian-born music producer and agent
• Gilbert Melendez (born 1982), American mixed martial artist
• Gilbert Hugh Murdoch, Canadian politician
• Gilbert Daniel Nessim (born 1966), chemistry professor at Bar-Ilan University
• Gilbert O'Sullivan (born 1946), stage name of Irish musician Raymond Edward O'Sullivan
• Gilbert Ouy (1924–2011), French historian, palaeographer and librarian
• Gilbert E. Patterson (1939–2007), American Pentecostal clergyman
• Gilbert Pena (born 1949), Texas politician
• Gilbert Reaney (1924–2008), English musicologist
• Gilbert Rozon (born 1954), Canadian impresario
• Gilbert Stuart (1755–1828), American painter
• Gilbert Tosetti (1879–1923), English cricketer
• Gilbert Tuhabonye (born 1974), American long-distance runner
• Gilbert Van Binst (1951–2025), Belgian footballer
• Gilbert F. White (1911–2006), American geographer

Fictional characters

• Gilbert, a cat in the Canadian children's television series Caillou
• Gilbert, an anthropomorphic globe from Don't Hug Me I'm Scared
• Gilbert Bates, a recurring character in the television series Leave It to Beaver
• Gilbert Beilschmidt, the human name of the personification of Prussia in the anime series Hetalia: Axis Powers
• Gilbert Blythe, a character in the novel series Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery
• Gilbert Bougainvillea, a major in the Leidenschaftlich army from the anime and manga Violet Evergarden
• Gilbert Cocteau, one of the main characters of the manga series Kaze to Ki no Uta
• Gilbert Dauterive, the cousin of the Bill Dauterive in the animated television series King of the Hill
• Gilbert Grape, the eponymous character of the 1993 film What's Eating Gilbert Grape
• Gil Grissom, a forensic entomologist in the television series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
• Gibert Huph, a character in the 2004 Disney/Pixar animated film The Incredibles
• Gilbert G.P. Guilford, the commander of the Glaston Knights in the anime series Code Geass
• Gilbert Markham, the principal narrator of the novel The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë
• Gilbert Nightray, a character in the manga and anime series Pandora Hearts
• Gilbert, a character in the 2022 film Hocus Pocus 2

Popularity

In England and Wales, Gilbert ranked 64th in popularity in 1904, 72nd in 1914 and 95th in 1924. By 1934 it had dropped out of the Top 100.^[6]

See also

• Gilberto
• Gille Brigte (disambiguation)
• Gislebertus, 12th-century sculptor