Filbert
A masculine name from the Old German meaning "lively counsel".
Name Census estimates that about 224 living Americans carry the first name Filbert. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Filbert today is around 67 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Filbert births was 1959 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Filbert. 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 Filbert is about 67 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Filberts were born before 1969.
People living today
224
~ 1 in 1,530,153 Americans
Peak year
1959
14 babies that year
Average age
67
years old
2005 SSA rank
#10,521
Tracked since 1915
Popularity
Filbert: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Filbert from the 1910s through to the 2000s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 90 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Filbert 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 Filbert during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Filberts live
Origin
Meaning and history of Filbert
The name Filbert is of German origin, derived from the Old High German words "fil," meaning "many," and "berht," meaning "bright" or "illustrious." It is believed to have emerged as a given name during the Middle Ages, around the 12th or 13th century.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Filbert can be found in medieval German documents and records. It was initially a masculine name, though its usage as a feminine name has also been documented in some regions.
One of the earliest known historical figures bearing the name Filbert was Filbert of Haspengouw, a Frankish nobleman who lived in the 9th century. He was a prominent figure in the court of Charlemagne and played a role in the expansion of the Carolingian Empire.
Another notable individual with the name Filbert was Filbert of Hermanville, a 12th-century Norman knight who participated in the Third Crusade. He was recorded as having fought alongside King Richard I of England during the siege of Acre in 1191.
In the 14th century, Filbert of Naillac served as the 25th Grand Master of the Knights Templar from 1334 to 1349. He played a crucial role in defending the order against accusations of heresy and helped oversee its dissolution.
During the Renaissance period, Filbert Hertrich (1475-1548) was a German mathematician and astronomer known for his contributions to the field of trigonometry. He developed the "Filbert's table," which facilitated calculations involving sines and cosines.
In the 18th century, Filbert Bayard (1722-1805) was a prominent American lawyer and politician from Delaware. He served as a delegate to the Continental Congress and played a role in the drafting of the Articles of Confederation.
While the name Filbert has waned in popularity in recent times, it has maintained a presence throughout history, particularly in Germanic regions and cultures. Its origins and meaning reflect the cultural and linguistic influences that have shaped the evolution of names over the centuries.
People
Filbert + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Filbert as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with F
Other first names starting with F with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Filbert: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Filbert?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 224 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Filbert 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 1,530,153 US residents.
Is Filbert a common name?
We classify Filbert as "Very Rare". It ranks above 75.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 452 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Filbert most popular?
The single biggest year for Filbert was 1959, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Filbert is about 67 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Filbert a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Filbert 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.