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.
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 Norbert is most popular
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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Pomeranian57 boys born+41%
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Lesser Poland86 boys born+38%
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Warmian-Masurian27 boys born+37%
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Greater Poland70 boys born+19%
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Subcarpathian36 boys born+9%
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Kuyavian-Pomeranian32 boys born+7%
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Łódź36 boys born+4%
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Lublin28 boys born−1%
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Masovian87 boys born−11%
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Podlaskie16 boys born−11%
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Silesian55 boys born−12%
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Opole8 boys born−37%
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Lubusz8 boys born−41%
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Świętokrzyskie9 boys born−41%
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Lower Silesian25 boys born−42%
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West Pomeranian13 boys born−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
17,694Cezary
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92
15,986Feliks
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9315,663Norbert
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94
14,569Edmund
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95
13,771Lech
When Norbert celebrates name day
Norbert appears 1 time in the Polish name day calendar. The main date is 6 June.