Harbert
Derived from the Old English words "here" and "beorht", meaning "bright army".
Name Census estimates that about 20 living Americans carry the first name Harbert. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Harbert today is around 81 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Harbert births was 1927 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Harbert. 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 Harbert is about 81 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Harberts were born before 1955.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Harbert. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
20
~ 1 in 17,137,717 Americans
Peak year
1927
11 babies that year
Average age
81
years old
1956 SSA rank
#3,696
Tracked since 1916
Popularity
Harbert: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Harbert from the 1910s through to the 1950s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 47 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
Harbert 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 Harbert during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Harbert
The name Harbert has its origins in the Germanic languages, tracing back to the 8th century. It is derived from the Old High German words "heri" meaning army and "beraht" meaning bright or shining. The combination of these words gave rise to the name Harbert, which can be interpreted as "army leader" or "bright warrior."
In the early medieval period, the name Harbert was popular among the Frankish nobility and warrior class. It was a name that carried connotations of strength, courage, and leadership on the battlefield. As the use of the name spread across Europe, variations in spelling emerged, such as Herbert, Heribert, and Aribert.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Harbert can be found in the Annales Regni Francorum, a chronicle of the Carolingian dynasty. The text mentions a nobleman named Heribert who served as a military commander under Charlemagne in the late 8th century.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Harbert or its variants. One of the most famous was Heribert of Cologne (970-1021), a German archbishop and statesman who played a significant role in the Holy Roman Empire during the 11th century.
Another prominent figure was Herbert of Vermandois (850-907), a Frankish count and military leader who fought against the Vikings and defended the kingdom of West Francia. In England, there was Herbert de Losinga (c. 1050-1119), the first Bishop of Norwich and a renowned architect who oversaw the construction of Norwich Cathedral.
In the realm of literature, Herbert of Bosham (c. 1120-1194) was an English biographer and clerk who wrote the famous "Life of Thomas Becket." The name also gained recognition through the works of the English poet George Herbert (1593-1633), whose religious poetry and writings on the priesthood were highly influential during the 17th century.
Other notable individuals with the name Harbert or its variants include Herbert Hoover (1874-1964), the 31st President of the United States, and Herbert von Karajan (1908-1989), the renowned Austrian conductor and one of the most celebrated musical figures of the 20th century.
People
Harbert + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Harbert as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with H
Other first names starting with H with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Harbert: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Harbert?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 20 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Harbert 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 17,137,717 US residents.
Is Harbert a common name?
We classify Harbert as "Very Rare". It ranks above 39.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 111 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Harbert most popular?
The single biggest year for Harbert was 1927, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Harbert is about 81 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Harbert in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Harbert a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Harbert 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.
Is Harbert still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Harbert in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Harbert can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people have the name Harbert?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.