CALBERT
Calbert is a surname of English provenance. It is derived from the Old English personal name Caleberht, which combines the elements cale, meaning “bold” or “hardy”, with beorht, meaning “bright” or “famous”. The combined sense of the name is therefore “bold and famous” or “hardy and bright”.
In addition to the Old English root, the surname has been linked to the Old German personal name Colbert, composed of col meaning “black” and behrt, a warrior or soldier. This Germanic origin has produced variant spellings such as Calburt, Kalber and others. The name Colbert appears in the Domesday Book of 1086 in the counties of Devon, Lincolnshire and Cheshire, confirming its presence in England from the eleventh century.
The earliest recorded spelling of the family name that has survived is that of John Colbert, dated 1205 in the Pipe Rolls of Devonshire during the reign of King John. Subsequent documented occasions include the christening of Thomas, son of Thomas and Elizabeth Colbert, at St. Dunstan’s, Stepney, London on 23 October 1616; the marriage of Richard Calbert and Mary Camble in Thirsk, Yorkshire on 3 September 1639; the wedding of Jane Calbert to William Ffeast in Much Hadham, Hertfordshire on 31 March 1657; and the union of William Calbert and Dorothy Milford at St. Mary, St. Marylebone Road, London on 25 February 1676.
By the late seventeenth century, the Colbert (Calbert) family had been granted at least six coats of arms, the earliest dated to about 1680. These arms featured a red serpent on a gold field, a design that was reproduced in several family heraldic records.
The surname Calbert has many variant spellings, including Calburt, Calberte, Calbarte, Calbirt and Kolbert, among others. These alternate forms reflect the diversity of orthographic practices in English and Germanic regions over the centuries.
While the name remains uncommon in the United Kingdom, it can be found in several English‑speaking countries, such as the United States, Canada and Australia, the frequency of which is nevertheless low. Consequently, historic documentation of the surname is relatively limited.
Typical given names associated with the Calbert surname
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Female
Similar and related surnames
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname Calbert in...
Braille
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Morse
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There are approximately 19 people named Calbert in the UK. That makes it one of Britain's least common surnames. Fewer than one in a million people in Britain are named Calbert.
