A male name. Old German Adalbert, compound of athal ‘noble’ and berhta bright’, equivalent of Old English Æthelbeorht. The name, either in the Latin form Albertus or the French Aubert, is not uncommon in the 12th and 13th C, and it occurs in Domesday Book. It is impossible to be quite sure whether this points to a survival of the Old English name or to an importation of the continental form of it but on the whole the latter is the more likely. The surnames Albert, Albright, &c., were formed from it. In the form Halbert the name survived in the North country until the 17th C. It was reintroduced from Germany in the 19th C on the marriage of Queen Victoria, and soon became very popular, especially among the poorer classes with whom it is still common. The Queen’s own name never had anything like the same measure of popularity. Albert is commonly abbreviated to Bert.

Albertus Domesday Book 1086. Albert Curia Regis Rolls 1189-1205. Aubert Cut 1189-1205. Aylbright Hundred Rolls 1273.

A Teutonic name, meaning: Fair ruler.