Talbert
A Germanic name meaning "brave person" or "from the bright town".
Name Census estimates that about 421 living Americans carry the first name Talbert. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Talbert today is around 63 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Talbert births was 1954 (18 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Talbert. 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.
People living today
421
~ 1 in 814,143 Americans
Peak year
1954
18 babies that year
Average age
63
years old
2019 SSA rank
#13,894
Tracked since 1910
Popularity
Talbert: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Talbert from the 1910s through to the 2010s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 133 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
Talbert 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 Talbert during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Talberts live
Origin
Meaning and history of Talbert
The name Talbert has its origins in the Germanic languages, specifically from the Old German and Old English tongues. It is a compound name, formed by combining the elements 'tal', meaning 'valley' or 'dale', and 'beraht', which translates to 'bright' or 'shining'. Thus, the name Talbert can be interpreted as "the bright valley" or "the shining dale".
This name first came into prominence during the Middle Ages, particularly in areas where Germanic tribes and settlers had established themselves, such as parts of modern-day Germany, England, and the Netherlands. The earliest documented use of the name Talbert can be traced back to the 9th century, where it appeared in various medieval records and chronicles.
One of the earliest known historical figures bearing the name Talbert was Talbert of Malmedy, a Benedictine monk and scholar who lived in the late 10th century. He was renowned for his contributions to the advancement of monastic education and the preservation of ancient texts during the Carolingian Renaissance.
Another notable figure was Talbert of York, a 12th-century English prelate who served as the Archbishop of York from 1119 to 1140. He played a significant role in the ongoing conflicts between the Church and the English monarchy during the reign of King Henry I.
In the 13th century, Talbert of Erfurt, a German theologian and philosopher, gained recognition for his influential works on scholastic philosophy and his efforts to reconcile Aristotelian thought with Christian doctrine.
During the Renaissance period, Talbert Bury, an English playwright and poet born in 1535, made his mark with his contributions to the flourishing literary scene of Elizabethan England.
More recently, Talbert Flemming, an American chemist and inventor born in 1884, is credited with developing numerous innovations in the field of agricultural chemistry, including the first commercially successful chemical fertilizers.
While the name Talbert has seen varying levels of popularity across different regions and time periods, it has maintained a unique and distinctive character, reflecting its rich historical roots and the cultural influences of the Germanic peoples.
People
Talbert + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Talbert as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with T
Other first names starting with T with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Talbert: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Talbert?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 421 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Talbert 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 814,143 US residents.
Is Talbert a common name?
We classify Talbert as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 826 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Talbert most popular?
The single biggest year for Talbert was 1954, when 18 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Talbert is about 63 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Talbert a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Talbert 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.