Egbert
A masculine name of Germanic origin meaning "bright edge" or "bright sword".
Name Census estimates that about 296 living Americans carry the first name Egbert. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Egbert today is around 66 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Egbert births was 1921 (47 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Egbert. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Egbert is about 66 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Egberts were born before 1970.
People living today
296
~ 1 in 1,157,954 Americans
Peak year
1921
47 babies that year
Average age
66
years old
2017 SSA rank
#8,331
Tracked since 1880
Popularity
Egbert: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Egbert from the 1880s through to the 2010s, spanning 13 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 309 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Egbert by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Egbert during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Egberts live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. New York, Georgia, Texas recorded the most babies named Egbert, while Michigan, Arkansas, Alabama recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 15 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Egbert
The given name Egbert is of Germanic origin, derived from the Old English words "ege" meaning "edge" or "sword," and "beorht" meaning "bright" or "shining." The name can be interpreted as "bright as a sword" or "shining sword." It has its roots in the Anglo-Saxon culture of England, dating back to the 7th and 8th centuries.
The name Egbert gained prominence during the reign of the Anglo-Saxon king Egbert of Wessex, who ruled from 802 to 839 AD. He is considered the first king to establish control over a significant portion of what is now England, laying the foundation for the eventual unification of the country.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Egbert can be found in Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People, written in the 8th century. The text mentions an Egbert, who was a priest and a cousin of the Northumbrian king Ceolwulf.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Egbert. One of the most famous was Egbert, Archbishop of Trier, who lived from around 950 to 993 AD. He played a significant role in the ecclesiastical and political affairs of the Holy Roman Empire during his time.
Another prominent figure was Egbert of Lindisfarne, also known as St. Egbert, who lived from around 639 to 729 AD. He was a renowned Anglo-Saxon scholar, teacher, and monk who founded a monastic school on the island of Lindisfarne, which became a center of learning and culture.
In the 12th century, Egbert of Schönau, a Benedictine monk and writer, gained recognition for his visionary writings and his contributions to the intellectual and spiritual life of his time.
Another notable Egbert was Egbert, Count of Calvelage, who lived in the 11th century and played a significant role in the political affairs of the Holy Roman Empire during the reign of Emperor Henry IV.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who have carried the name Egbert, highlighting its enduring presence and the diverse backgrounds of those who have borne this name.
People
Egbert + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Egbert as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with E
Other first names starting with E with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Egbert: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Egbert?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 296 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Egbert going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,157,954 US residents.
Is Egbert a common name?
We classify Egbert as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,231 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Egbert most popular?
The single biggest year for Egbert was 1921, when 47 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Egbert is about 66 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Egbert a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Egbert in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.