Norbert
A Latin name, Norbertus at root, carried into Poland by the medieval Norbertine order and read as "bright north". Given only to boys, it was a steady pick through the 2000s but comes to fewer newborns each year now, though it still rings familiar.
Norbert Pronunciation
Norbert is pronounced NOR-bert (/ˈnɔrbɛrt/).
What Norbert means
Where Norbert comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
Norbert reached Polish records in its Latin form, Norbertus. The short meaning given for it is bright north, two small ideas that sit oddly together and lodge in the memory.
Norbert of Xanten carried the name through the twelfth century. Around 1120 he founded the Premonstratensian order, and his followers reached Poland as the Norbertine canons and sisters. Their convent still stands at Zwierzyniec in Kraków, above the Vistula.
The name keeps a place on the June calendar, marked on the sixth for Saint Norbert. A boy called Norbert notices this early, when the imieniny list is read and his day comes round while other children wait for theirs. His name sits alone in a class register full of Jakubs and Szymons.
The meaning stays plain. Bright north, worn without fuss.
When Norbert celebrates name day
Norbert appears 1 time in the Polish name day calendar, 1 of them as a main name, the first on 6 June.
The days Polish calendars list this name on. By custom you celebrate one of them, usually the first after your birthday.
How many people are named Norbert
1 in 542 men in Poland is named Norbert. 39,363 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #215 among male names.
Norbert's popularity over time
63 boys were given the name in 2025, ranking #313 among newborns. It has been falling steadily since 2000. Still the #215 name among living men, even as it slips to #313 among newborns.
Where parents choose Norbert
Norbert is most popular in Pomeranian, 41% above the national average (57 boys born 2019–2025), followed by Lesser Poland (+38%) and Warmian-Masurian (+37%). It is least common in West Pomeranian and Lower Silesian, 44% and 42% below average respectively.
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Pomeranian
+41%1 in 2,585 babies
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Lesser Poland
+38%1 in 2,639 babies
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Warmian-Masurian
+37%1 in 2,659 babies
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West Pomeranian
−44%1 in 6,494 babies
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Lower Silesian
−42%1 in 6,285 babies
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Lubusz
−41%1 in 6,207 babies
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Pomeranian+41% 57 born1 in 2,585 babies+41%
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Lesser Poland+38% 86 born1 in 2,639 babies+38%
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Warmian-Masurian+37% 27 born1 in 2,659 babies+37%
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Greater Poland+19% 70 born1 in 3,075 babies+19%
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Subcarpathian+9% 36 born1 in 3,349 babies+9%
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Kuyavian-Pomeranian+7% 32 born1 in 3,418 babies+7%
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Łódź+4% 36 born1 in 3,520 babies+4%
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Lublin−1% 28 born1 in 3,667 babies−1%
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Masovian−11% 87 born1 in 4,072 babies−11%
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Podlaskie−11% 16 born1 in 4,112 babies−11%
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Silesian−12% 55 born1 in 4,138 babies−12%
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Opole−37% 8 born1 in 5,762 babies−37%
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Lubusz−41% 8 born1 in 6,207 babies−41%
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Holy Cross−41% 9 born1 in 6,159 babies−41%
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Lower Silesian−42% 25 born1 in 6,285 babies−42%
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West Pomeranian−44% 13 born1 in 6,494 babies−44%
Norbert as a middle name
Norbert is a first name for 39,363 men in Poland and a middle name for another 15,663, a 72/28 split. In the men's middle-name ranking it sits 93rd, between Feliks (15,986) and Edmund (14,569).
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#91 Cezary17,694
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#92 Feliks15,986
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#93 Norbert15,663
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#94 Edmund14,569
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#95 Lech13,771