Odbert
Derived from Old English elements "ord" and "beorht", meaning "bright spearhead".
Name Census estimates that about 0 living Americans carry the first name Odbert. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Odbert today is around 0 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Odbert births was 1923 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Odbert. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Odbert. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
0
~ - Americans
Peak year
1923
5 babies that year
Average age
-
1923 SSA rank
#4,714
Tracked since 1923
Popularity
Odbert: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Odbert 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 Odbert during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1920s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Odbert
The given name Odbert has its origins in the Germanic languages, specifically in Old English and Old Norse. It is a compound name derived from the elements "aud" meaning wealth or prosperity, and "berht" meaning bright or shining.
In its earliest recorded forms, the name was spelled as "Audberht" or "Auðbriht" in Old English, and "Auðbjartr" in Old Norse. These variations indicate that the name was in use among the Anglo-Saxon and Norse populations during the early medieval period, around the 7th to 11th centuries.
One of the earliest known historical references to the name Odbert can be found in the Domesday Book, a survey of landholdings commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The name appears as "Audebertus" in this record, suggesting its use among the Norman nobility who came to England after the Norman Conquest.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the name Odbert was relatively uncommon but can be found in various historical records and chronicles. One notable bearer of the name was Odbert of Gembloux (c. 1050 - 1141), a Benedictine monk and hagiographer from the County of Namur (modern-day Belgium).
In the later medieval period, the name Odbert appeared in various spellings, such as "Odbriht," "Odebert," and "Odbert." One prominent individual with this name was Odbert of Todi (c. 1265 - 1350), an Italian Franciscan friar and preacher known for his sermons and moral teachings.
During the Renaissance, the name Odbert was primarily confined to certain regions of Europe, particularly in Germany and the Low Countries. One notable figure from this era was Odbert Philypowez (c. 1470 - 1535), a Dutch scholar and humanist who served as a secretary to Erasmus of Rotterdam.
In the 17th century, the name Odbert was borne by Odbert Valette (1598 - 1652), a French painter and engraver who worked in the Baroque style. He is known for his religious paintings and engravings depicting biblical scenes.
By the 18th and 19th centuries, the name Odbert had become quite rare, but it continued to appear sporadically in various European regions. One individual worth mentioning is Odbert Fenwick (1767 - 1838), an English Catholic priest and writer who served as the president of the English College in Lisbon, Portugal.
People
Odbert + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Odbert as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with O
Other first names starting with O with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Odbert: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Odbert?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 0 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Odbert 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 - US residents.
Is Odbert a common name?
We classify Odbert as "Very Rare". It ranks above 2.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Odbert most popular?
The single biggest year for Odbert was 1923, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Odbert is about 0 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 Odbert in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Odbert a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Odbert 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 Odbert still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Odbert 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 Odbert 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 Odbert?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.