Colbert is an English and French
surname and
given name of uncertain
etymology. It is possible that it appeared independently several times throughout history. The name is recorded in England in the 11th century Domesday Book in Devon, Cheshire, and Lincolnshire.[1] This English surname was originally a given name that may have meant "cool" and "bright"; see also
Bert.[2]
The name is common in English-speaking countries, particularly Ireland, but some of these families may have their origin in France, where the name is very common.
The French name perhaps has a different origin, but some linguists say it has the same origin from the Germanic words kol ("cool") and berht ("bright").[3] It is recorded in the French province of
Champagne in the 15th century, where, some suggest, it is a reduced form of "Colibert", which is also attested in medieval Champagne. "Colibert" was originally a contraction of the
Latincollibertus ("fellow
freedman", i.e. "fellow
freedslave"). It may, however, derive from an unattested
Germanicgiven name *Colberht, or a
gallicized form of the
Flemish surname Koelbert. This in turn derives from a given name mentioned as Colobert in the 7th century.[4]
Brad Colbert (born 1974), United States Marine and subject of Generation Kill
Burwell Colbert (1783–c.1850), American slave of
Thomas Jefferson who was held in high esteem by Jefferson as a "faithful servant" who was "absolutely excepted from the whip" and served as butler, personal valet, glazier, and painter at
Monticello
This page lists people with the
surnameColbert. If an
internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that
link by adding the person's
given name(s) to the link.
Name list
This page or section lists people that share the same
given name. If an
internal link led you here, you may wish to change that link to point directly to the intended article.
Colbert is an English and French
surname and
given name of uncertain
etymology. It is possible that it appeared independently several times throughout history. The name is recorded in England in the 11th century Domesday Book in Devon, Cheshire, and Lincolnshire.[1] This English surname was originally a given name that may have meant "cool" and "bright"; see also
Bert.[2]
The name is common in English-speaking countries, particularly Ireland, but some of these families may have their origin in France, where the name is very common.
The French name perhaps has a different origin, but some linguists say it has the same origin from the Germanic words kol ("cool") and berht ("bright").[3] It is recorded in the French province of
Champagne in the 15th century, where, some suggest, it is a reduced form of "Colibert", which is also attested in medieval Champagne. "Colibert" was originally a contraction of the
Latincollibertus ("fellow
freedman", i.e. "fellow
freedslave"). It may, however, derive from an unattested
Germanicgiven name *Colberht, or a
gallicized form of the
Flemish surname Koelbert. This in turn derives from a given name mentioned as Colobert in the 7th century.[4]
Brad Colbert (born 1974), United States Marine and subject of Generation Kill
Burwell Colbert (1783–c.1850), American slave of
Thomas Jefferson who was held in high esteem by Jefferson as a "faithful servant" who was "absolutely excepted from the whip" and served as butler, personal valet, glazier, and painter at
Monticello
This page lists people with the
surnameColbert. If an
internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that
link by adding the person's
given name(s) to the link.
Name list
This page or section lists people that share the same
given name. If an
internal link led you here, you may wish to change that link to point directly to the intended article.