Meaning and history
Herbert is derived from the Old German elements heri meaning “army” and beraht meaning “bright.” It was borne by two Merovingian Frankish kings, usually called Charibert, and was introduced to England by the Normans, where it replaced the Old English cognate Herebeorht. The name became rare during the Middle Ages but was revived in the 19th century, and it was also borne by several medieval saints, including a 7th-century Anglo-Saxon priest and an 11th-century archbishop of Cologne.
20062006: 113 births, rank #1,402
2007: 104 births, rank #1,516
2008: 110 births, rank #1,482
2009: 94 births, rank #1,665
2010: 99 births, rank #1,588
20112011: 81 births, rank #1,780
2012: 72 births, rank #1,959
2013: 79 births, rank #1,811
2014: 75 births, rank #1,920
2015: 79 births, rank #1,853
20162016: 80 births, rank #1,863
2017: 77 births, rank #1,883
2018: 71 births, rank #2,029
2019: 54 births, rank #2,464
2020: 59 births, rank #2,292
20212021: 53 births, rank #2,499
2022: 65 births, rank #2,217
2023: 68 births, rank #2,129
2024: 56 births, rank #2,444
20252025: 49 births, rank #2,641
Herbert moved from #966 to #978 for boys between 2000 and 2002. Its highest annual birth count came in 1928, with 8,065 births.