Gilbert is a given name of Norman-French origin, itself from Germanic Gisilberht or Gisalberht. Original spellings included Gislebert, Guilbert and Gilebert. The first element, Gil-, comes from Germanic gīsil, meaning "shaft of an arrow" or gisal "pledge, hostage", while the second element, -bert comes from Germanic -behrt, short form of beraht, meaning "bright" or "famous". The name spread in France and was introduced to England by the Normans, where it was popular during the Middle Ages. That is the reason the pronunciation Gil- reflects the Northern Norman one , as opposed to Old French > French and explains the alternative spelling Guilbert with Guil- .
Variant spellings have evolved throughout Europe, including the Iberian/Italian version Gilberto and, as was the custom across Europe, given a Latin language version Gilbertus, to be used alongside a person's native variant. The diminutive, Gil, eventually became popular as a standalone given name or nickname. Gilbert, with variant spellings, is also used as a surname (see Gilbert (surname)).
Translations
Arabic: غيلبرت
Belarusian: Гілберт ( Hilbiert) Bengali: গিলবার্ট ( Gilabārṭa) Chinese Simplified: 吉尔伯特 (Jí'ěr bó tè) Chinese Traditional: 吉爾伯特 (Jí'ěr bó tè) French: Gilbert German: Gilbert Gujarati: ગિલ્બર્ટ ( Gilbarṭa) Hebrew: גילברט Hindi: गिल्बर्ट ( Gilbarṭ) Italian: Gilberto Japanese: ギルバート ( Girubāto) Kannada: ಗಿಲ್ಬರ್ಟ್ ( Gilbarṭ) Korean: 길버트 (Gilbeoteu) Lithuanian: Gilbertas Macedonian: Гилберт Marathi: गिल्बर्ट ( Gilbarṭa) Mongolian: Гилберт ( Gilbyert) Nepali: गिल्बर्ट (Gilbarṭa) Persian: گیلبرت Portuguese: Gilberto Russian: Гилберт Serbian: Гилберт Spanish: Gilberto Tamil: கில்பர்ட் ( Kilparṭ) Telugu: గిల్బర్ట్ ( Gilbarṭ) Thai: กิลเบิร์ต ( Kilbeir̒) Turkish: Jilbert, Jilber Ukrainian: Гілберт ( Hilbert) Urdu: گلبرٹ Yiddish: גילבערט ( Gylbʻrt)