What is the origin of the Gilbert name?

Answer 1

http://www.ancestry.com/learn/facts/default.aspx?ln=

Gilbert

English (of Norman origin), French, and North German: from Giselbert, a Norman personal name composed of the Germanic elements gisil ‘pledge’, ‘hostage’, ‘noble youth’ (see Giesel) + berht ‘bright’, ‘famous’. This personal name enjoyed considerable popularity in England during the Middle Ages, partly as a result of the fame of St. Gilbert of Sempringham (1085–1189), the founder of the only native English monastic order.

Jewish (Ashkenazic): Americanized form of one or more like-sounding Jewish surnames.

Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4

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Answer 2

That is a very interesting question.

It is a very positive name from Germanic words meaning “pledge” and “bright.”

It is also a unit of magnetism named after the famous scientist William Gilbert!