Name of the Week: Herbert

 

Origin:

Herbert is the modern English and French form of the Frankish name Heriberaht, composed of the Old High German elements heri "army" and beraht "bright." Heriberaht was Latinised as Her(e)bertus, which then became Herbert in Old French. This Old French form was brought over to Britain by the Normans where it reinforced, and later replaced, the Old English cognate form Hereberht.

Usage:

A handful of English and French saints bore the name in the early Middle Ages. In France, Saint Herbert was bishop of Marmoutier and archbishop of Tours, but little is known of his life. A little more is known of Saint Herbert of Derwentwater (died 687), an Anglo-Saxon hermit and priest who lived on an island in Lake Derwentwater. The island is now called St. Herbert's Islands in his honour.  Several Frankish counts also bore the name, including four counts of Vermandois (from 889 to 1080) and two counts of Maine (from 1017 to 1062).  Map from PASE for the name Herbert The Prosopography of Anglo-Saxon England (PASE) database has 12 examples of the Anglo-Saxon name Hereberht in use before the Conquest, including an abbot, ealderman and several moneyers. The database also has 29 examples of the Old French form Herbert in use after the Conquest. The image (right) shows all the areas attached to the name Herbert in the Domesday Book of 1086. Red areas are for Tenant-in-Chiefs in 1086 named Herbert, orange denotes Subtenants in 1086, and yellow signifies Sub-subtenants in 1086 named Herbert. Herbert was modestly used in the Middle Ages in Britain. George Redmonds describes it as "rare in 1377-81" but familiar to us now because it has been revived more recently.* Reaney and Wilson describe it as "introduced by the Normans, but much less common than Hugh."*  The Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources has a handful of records for Herbert in England in the 12th century, but even more for France from the 7th to 16th century. Herbert was at least used enough by the 13th century to create the surnames Herbert, Herbit, Harbard, Harberd, Harbot, Harbutt, Fitzherbert, Herbertson, Harbertson, Herbinson, Herbison and Harbison amongst others.  The surname Herbert has held a prominent place in the British peerage. William Herbert (1423–1469), a Welsh nobleman and courtier, was created Baron Herbert, and later 1st Earl of Pembroke. One line of his descendants became Dukes of Beaufort; another became the Earls of Pembroke. The Hon. Oscar Seyfried Herbert (b. 2004) and the Hon. Reginald Herbert, Lord Herbert (b. 2012) are the current heirs apparent to these titles. In The Oxford Dictionary of English Surnames, Reaney and Wilson also point out that diminutives for Herbert were "formed but have not survived" citing examples of Herbelott, Herbelot, Herbelyn and Herbekyn.  Unlike other medieval names, Herbert never really died out, and baptism records can be found across England in both the 16th and 17th century. It was, however, only moderately used and only became common by the late 18th century. The fact that Herbert was an aristocratic name is one of the reasons why it became popular in the 19th century (as we can see in the success of other peerage surnames such as Sidney, Stanley, Percy, Clifford and Neville). Other reasons why Herbert ticked several boxes for Victorian parents was the fashion for medievalism and the many other -bert names in use such as Robert, Albert, Gilbert, Hubert and Cuthbert.  By the time Queen Victoria came to the throne in 1837, Herbert had made it into the top 50 England and Wales, as we can see from registrations records for Herbert (as a first name) in the England and Wales Birth Index: Chart via flourish:namehistory 1840: 1850:  1860:  1870:  1880:  1890: 1900: 1904: 1914: 1924: 1934: 1944: #45 #32 #24 #20 #17 #19 #20 #21 #25 #46 #73 *out of the top 100* Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith (1852–1928) was Prime Minister of the United Kindom from 1908 to 1916 and is celebrated for his role in creating the modern British welfare state. Other famous contemporaries to bear the name include philosopher Herbert Spencer (1820–1903); Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener (1850–1916), First World War field marshal famous for the iconic "Kitchener Wants You" WWI recruitment poster; Herbert Plumer, 1st Viscount Plumer (1857–1932), another senior British Army officer of the First World War and author Herbert "H.G." Wells (1866-1946).  Having been in the top 50 in England and Wales for pretty much a century, Herbert began to decline sharply from 1915 onwards. From 1996 to 2006, Herbert sat mostly outside of the top 1000 in England and Wales.  Since 2006, Herbert has been modestly rising reaching #684 with 51 births in 2017.  Diminutive Herbie has also seen a rise since 1996. To date, it has peaked at #516 with 68 births in 2011. In 2017, Herbie ranked #719 with 48 births.  In Scotland, Herbert has only ranked in 12 years out of 43 since 1975 and been given to no more than two boys in any given year. In 2018 in Scotland, Herbert ranked #1282 with 1 birth.

Famous Bearers:

History: * St. Herbert of Derwentwater (died 687), Anglo-Saxon hermit, priest, and saint. * Herbert I, Count of Vermandois (848–907), Frankish count. * Herbert II, Count of Vermandois (880–943), Frankish count. * Herbert III, Count of Vermandois (987–997), Frankish count. * Herbert I of Maine (died 1036), Frankish count. * Herbert IV, Count of Vermandois (1045–1080), Frankish count. * Herbert II of Maine (died 1062), Frankish count. * Herbert Spencer (1820–1903), English philosopher. * Herbert Giles (1845–1935), British diplomat and translator. * Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener (1850–1916), British First World War field marshal and colonial administrator. * Herbert "H. H." Asquith (1852–1928), UK Prime Minister (1908-16). * Herbert Plumer, 1st Viscount Plumer (1857–1932), senior British Army officer of the First World War. * Herbert Lawrence (1861–1943), general in the British Army. * Herbert Baker (1862–1946), British architect. * Herbert Austin (1866–1941), British car maker and founder of the Austin Motor Company. * Herbert "H. G." Wells (1866–1946), British writer. * Herbert Croly (1869–1930), American writer. * Herbert Sanborn (1873–1967), American philosopher. * Herbert Hoover (1874–1964), 31st President of the United States. * Herbert Irving Preston (1876–1928), American Marine and Medal of Honor recipient. * Herbert Ashwin Budd (1881–1950), British painter. * Herbert Stothart (1885–1949), American composer. * Herbert Elliott (1887–1973), English cricketer. * Herbert Marshall (1890–1966), English actor. * Herbert Lumsden (1897–1945), senior British Army officer of World War I and II. * Herbert Marcuse (1898–1979), German philosopher. * Herbert Bayer (1900–1985), Austrian graphic designer. * Herbert Butterfield (1900–1979), British historian. * Herbert von Karajan (1908–1989), Austrian conductor. * Herbert Hirche (1910–2002), German architect and designer. * Herbert C. Brown (1912–2004), American chemist. * Herbert Hauptman (1917–2011), American mathematician. Contemporary: * Herbert W. Franke (born 1927), Austrian writer. * Herbert Gelernter (born 1930), American scientist. * Herbert Stevens IV (born 1987), American hip-hop recording artist who records under the name "Ab-Soul". Literature and Other Media: * Sir Herbert Subboys, a knight in John Marston's play The Dutch Courtesan (1605). * Herbert Birdsfoot, a Sesame Street Muppet. * Herbert "Bertie" Pelham, 7th Marquess of Hexham, a character on TV's Downton Abbey.

Variants:

Herberto (Spanish, Portuguese), Aribert (German), Erberto (Italian)

Pronunciation:

HER-bət [key]

Possible diminutives:

Herb, Herbie, Bert, Bertie

Sibling Names:

Agatha      Winifred     Rosemary     Frances     Dorothy     Millicent Wilbur     Ronald     Barnaby     Winston     Raymond     Orson

Name Lists:

Victorian Darlings   Roaring Twenties Names   Funky-Clunky

 

If you like Herbert you may also like:   Hubert, Dorian, Arnold, Howard, Reginald, Clayton, Nelson, Percival, Calvin, Sidney

Thanks to Jessica for requesting this name.