Selbert
A masculine given name, likely a variant of Gilbert.
Name Census estimates that about 1 living Americans carry the first name Selbert. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Selbert today is around 56 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Selbert births was 1920 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Selbert. 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 Selbert. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
1
~ 1 in 342,754,338 Americans
Peak year
1920
5 babies that year
Average age
56
years old
1931 SSA rank
#4,249
Tracked since 1920
Popularity
Selbert: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Selbert from the 1920s through to the 1930s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1930s, with 5 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Selbert 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 Selbert during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Selberts live
Origin
Meaning and history of Selbert
The given name Selbert has its origins in the Germanic languages, with roots tracing back to the 5th century AD. The name is derived from the Old High German elements "sigi," meaning victory, and "berht," meaning bright or shining. As such, the name Selbert can be interpreted to mean "bright victor" or "shining conqueror."
In the early medieval period, the name Selbert was relatively common among the Frankish and Alemannic nobility of present-day Germany and France. It appears in several historical records from the 6th to 9th centuries, though its usage declined with the rise of Christianity and the adoption of Biblical names.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Selbert was a Frankish nobleman who lived in the late 6th century. He served as a trusted advisor to King Childebert II and is mentioned in the historical writings of Gregory of Tours.
Another notable bearer of the name was Selbert, a Benedictine monk who lived in the 9th century. He was a respected scholar and theologian at the monastery of Reichenau, located on an island in Lake Constance. Selbert's writings on astronomy and mathematics were influential in his time.
In the 11th century, a warrior named Selbert fought alongside the Norman forces of William the Conqueror during the invasion of England in 1066. He is briefly mentioned in the Bayeux Tapestry, a famous embroidered cloth depicting the Norman conquest.
The name Selbert also appears in Scandinavian sources from the Viking Age. One such individual was Selbert Haraldsson, a Norwegian chieftain who lived in the late 10th century. He is recorded as having participated in Viking raids along the coasts of England and France.
In the 12th century, a man named Selbert was a prominent architect and stonemason in the city of Regensburg, Germany. He is credited with the design and construction of several notable Romanesque churches and buildings that still stand today.
While the name Selbert fell out of common usage in most regions after the medieval period, it has persisted as a rare surname in parts of Germany and Scandinavia. However, as a given name, Selbert remains exceedingly uncommon in modern times.
People
Selbert + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Selbert as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with S
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Selbert: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Selbert?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Selbert 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 342,754,338 US residents.
Is Selbert a common name?
We classify Selbert as "Very Rare". It ranks above 3.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 10 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Selbert most popular?
The single biggest year for Selbert was 1920, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Selbert is about 56 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 Selbert in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Selbert a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Selbert 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 Selbert still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Selbert 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 Selbert 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 are named Selbert?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people share the name Selbert at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.