Hebert
A masculine given name of German origin meaning "bright army" or "famous warrior".
Name Census estimates that about 454 living Americans carry the first name Hebert. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Hebert today is around 56 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Hebert births was 1928 (43 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Hebert. 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
454
~ 1 in 754,966 Americans
Peak year
1928
43 babies that year
Average age
56
years old
2021 SSA rank
#12,811
Tracked since 1894
Census
Hebert in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 939 people with the first name Hebert, which placed it at #13,019 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#13,019
National first-name rank
People counted
939
939 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
46.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hebert
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Hebert is Hispanic at 46.4%. The next largest groups are White (24.8%) and Black (24.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Hebert described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Hebert at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino46.4% · 436
- White24.8% · 233
- Black or African American24.8% · 233
- Two or more races1.6% · 15
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.3% · 12
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 10
Popularity
Hebert: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Hebert from the 1890s through to the 2020s, spanning 14 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 226 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
Hebert 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 Hebert during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Heberts live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. North Carolina, Louisiana, Texas recorded the most babies named Hebert, while Mississippi, Georgia, Texas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 12 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Hebert
The name Hebert has its roots in the Germanic languages, originating from a combination of the elements "heri" meaning army and "berht" meaning bright or famous. This name gained popularity during the Middle Ages, particularly in regions of present-day France and Germany.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Hebert can be traced back to the 7th century, when a Frankish nobleman named Hebert of Austrasia was mentioned in historical chronicles. This suggests that the name was already in use among the aristocracy of that era.
In the 9th century, a Benedictine monk named Hebert of Quedlinburg played a significant role in the development of religious literature and theological studies. His writings and teachings contributed to the spread and acceptance of the name within the Christian tradition.
During the 11th century, a French knight named Hebert de Vermandois gained renown for his participation in the First Crusade. His exploits were documented in various chronicles, further cementing the name's association with bravery and military prowess.
One of the most notable historical figures bearing the name Hebert was Hebert de Bury, an English writer and bibliophile born in 1287. He served as the tutor to the future King Edward III and is remembered for his extensive collection of manuscripts and his contributions to the preservation of literary works.
In the 15th century, a French nobleman named Hebert de Xaintrailles distinguished himself as a skilled military commander during the Hundred Years' War. His loyalty to Joan of Arc and his victories against the English forces earned him a place in the annals of French history.
Throughout the centuries, the name Hebert has been carried by individuals from various walks of life, including scholars, artists, and politicians. Among them was the French playwright and satirist Hebert Caron, born in 1599, whose works provided sharp social commentary on the societal norms of his time.
People
Hebert + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Hebert 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
Hebert: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Hebert?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 454 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Hebert 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 754,966 US residents.
Is Hebert a common name?
We classify Hebert as "Very Rare". It ranks above 83.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,066 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Hebert most popular?
The single biggest year for Hebert was 1928, when 43 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Hebert is about 56 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Hebert in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 939 people with the name Hebert, or 0.31 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #13,019 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Hebert in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Hebert?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Hebert leans strongly male. 921 people counted with this name were male (97.2%), compared with 27 female bearers (2.8%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Hebert?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Hebert is Hispanic at 46.4%. The next largest groups are White (24.8%) and Black (24.8%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Hebert most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Hebert in the 2020 Census, accounting for 46.4% (436 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
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 Hebert in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Hebert a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Hebert 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 Hebert still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Hebert 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 Hebert 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.
How many people have Hebert as a first name?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.