Contents [hide]

Herbert History Etymology Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables World Ranking

United States Canada Australia New Zealand West Indies

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Suggested Reading Sources

Herbert History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
France-Alt
France

Etymology of Herbert

What does the name Herbert mean?

The surname Herbert comes ultimately from a Germanic personal (first) name, composed of the elements "hari", meaning "army", and "behrt", meaning "illustrious". Saint Haribert was the archbishop of Cologne circa. 1000, and versions of Herbert became a popular given name amongst the French nobility.

Early Origins of the Herbert family

The surname Herbert was first found in Normandy (French: Normandie), the former Duchy of Normandy, where Herbert families were the Lords (seigneurs) of Plaigniere and of Beauvoir. This branch of the family came from England in the 15th century and were given these lands by King Richard of England. It it thought that other branches no doubt pre-dated the Herbert family that came from England. 1

Louis Hébert (c. 1575-1627), was a French pioneer who first came to Quebec in 1604 and is generally considered to have been the first permanent settler in Canada and considered to be the first Canadian apothecary. Louis had come to Canada twice before but he eventually settled in Quebec with his wife Marie (neé Rollet) and children in 1617 after arriving in Canada for the first time in May 1604. Louis later died from a bad fall and was buried on 25th January 1627 in Quebec. 2

Early History of the Herbert family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Herbert research. Another 62 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1548, 1666 and 1725 are included under the topic Early Herbert History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Herbert Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Hebert, Harbert, Herbert, Herbot, Harbelot and others.

Early Notables of the Herbert family

Francis Hébert (d. 1725), was a priest at Versailles, who earned the admiration of Louis XIV; and Jacques Rene Hébert played an important part in the French Revolution, as he and his...
Another 31 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Herbert Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Herbert World Ranking

the United States, the name Herbert is the 1,146^th most popular surname with an estimated 27,357 people with that name. 3 However, in France, the name Herbert is ranked the 1,945^th most popular surname with an estimated 3,186 people with that name. 4 And in Australia, the name Herbert is the 366^th popular surname with an estimated 9,915 people with that name. 5 New Zealand ranks Herbert as 304^th with 2,006 people. 6 The United Kingdom ranks Herbert as 428^th with 15,078 people. 7

Herbert migration to the United States +

Herbert Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

John Herbert, who settled in Salem Massachusetts in 1630
Andries Herbert, who landed in New York in 1642-1643 9
Thomas Herbert, who settled in Virginia in 1651
Sylvester Herbert, who arrived in Boston, Massachusetts in 1652 9
Clemence Herbert, who landed in Virginia in 1657 9
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Herbert Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Richard Herbert, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1717 9
Henry Herbert, who arrived in Georgia in 1732 9
Michael Herbert, who landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1746 9

Herbert Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Jeremiah Herbert, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1832 9
Bonifacius Herbert, who landed in North America in 1832-1849 9
Walter Herbert, aged 36, who landed in Key West, Fla in 1838 9
John Herbert, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1839 9
H Adam Herbert, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1848 9
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Herbert Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Jesse Ernest Herbert, who arrived in California in 1905 9

Herbert migration to Canada +

Herbert Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Robert Herbert, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1750

Herbert Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Michael Herbert, aged 73, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1817

Herbert migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia included the First Fleet and Third Fleet of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

First Fleet

Mr. Joseph Herbert, (Harbourn), (1747 - 1790), aged 42, British settler convicted at Middlesex, England in 1787, sentenced to 7 years for stealing birds, transported aboard the ship "Surprize" leaving in 1789 arriving in New South Wales, Australia in 1790 8
Mr. Peter Herbert, (1768 - 1791), aged 21, British settler convicted at Middlesex, England in 1788, sentenced to 7 years for stealing, transported aboard the ship "Surprize" leaving in 1789 arriving in New South Wales, Australia in 1790 9

Third Fleet

Mr. John Herbert, (b. 1766), aged 21, English settler convicted in London on 14th March 1785, sentenced for 7 years for theft, transported aboard the ship "Scarborough" leaving in 1787 arriving in New South Wales, Australia in 1788 9
Mr. John Herbert, (1760 - 1832), aged 24, English settler convicted in Exeter, Devon on 21st April 1784, sentenced for 7 years for highway robbery, transported aboard the ship "Charlotte" leaving on 13th May 1787 arriving in New South Wales, Australia on 22nd January 1788 9
Miss Jane Herbert, (b. 1746), aged 41, English settler convicted in London on 30th August 1786, sentenced for 7 years for theft, transported aboard the ship "Prince of Wales" leaving in 1787 arriving in New South Wales, Australia in 1788, she died in 1788 9

Following the First and Third Fleets, other convicts and early settlers arriving in Australia include:

Herbert Settlers in Australia in the 18th Century

Mr. John Herbert, (b. 1760), aged 27, English farmer who was convicted in Devon, England for 7 years for highway robbery, transported aboard the "Charlotte" on 13th May 1787, arriving in New South Wales, Australia, he died in 1832 10

Herbert Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. William Herbert, British Convict who was convicted in Middlesex, England for life, transported aboard the "Coromandel" on 4th December 1803, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 11
Mr. William Herbert, British Convict who was convicted in Middlesex, England for 14 years for coining, transported aboard the "Caledonia" on 5th July 1820, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 12
Mr. Edward Herbert, English convict who was convicted in Middlesex, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Fairlie" on 14th October 1833, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 13
John Herbert, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Lady Emma" in 1837 14
Matilda Herbert, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Lady Emma" in 1837 14
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Herbert migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Herbert Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

George Herbert, who landed in Wellington, New Zealand in 1840
George Herbert, aged 26, a carpenter, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Catherine Stewart Forbes" in 1841
Elizabeth Herbert, aged 25, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Catherine Stewart Forbes" in 1841
Joseph Herbert, who landed in Wellington, New Zealand in 1842 aboard the ship London
Joseph Herbert, aged 27, a labourer, who arrived in Port Nicholson aboard the ship "London" in 1842
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Herbert migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 15

Herbert Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Elizabeth Herbert, who settled in Barbados in 1671
William Herbert and his wife Elizabeth settled in Barbados in 1679

Contemporary Notables of the name Herbert (post 1700) +

Joseph Herbert (1957-2025), American New York police detective who is best known as cracking the copycat Zodiac serial killer case in 1996
Victor Herbert (1859-1924), Irish-American cellist, composer, and conductor, best remembered for his operetta The Fortune Teller
Walter James "Herbie" Herbert II (1948-2021), American music manager and musician from Berkeley, California, best known for his work with Santana and Journey
Charles Herbert (1948-2015), born Charles Herbert Saperstein, an American child actor who appeared in 20 Hollywood features, perhaps best known for his roles in 13 Ghosts (1960), The Fly (1958), Houseboat (1958) and The Boy and the Pirates (1960)
Frank Herbert (1920-1986), American critically acclaimed science fiction author best known for the novel "Dune"
Carl D. Herbert, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate for Missouri State House of Representatives from Camden County, 1950 16
Caleb Claiborne Herbert (1814-1867), American politician, Member of Texas State Senate, 1857-59; Representative from Texas in the Confederate Congress, 1862-65 17
C. S. Herbert, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Louisiana, 1912 17
Bea Herbert, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate for U.S. Representative from California 51st District, 1992 17
... (Another 59 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Herbert family +

Cataraqui

Joseph Herbert (b. 1818), British passenger who died aboard the ship "Cataraqui" when sailing for Melbourne, Australia she struck rocks of Kings Island and sank on 4th April 1845
Anne Herbert (b. 1819), British passenger who died aboard the ship "Cataraqui" when sailing for Melbourne, Australia she struck rocks of Kings Island and sank on 4th April 1845
Mary Herbert (b. 1841), British passenger who died aboard the ship "Cataraqui" when sailing for Melbourne, Australia she struck rocks of Kings Island and sank on 4th April 1845
Elizabeth Herbert (b. 1843), British passenger who died aboard the ship "Cataraqui" when sailing for Melbourne, Australia she struck rocks of Kings Island and sank on 4th April 1845
William Herbert (b. 1845), British passenger who died aboard the ship "Cataraqui" when sailing for Melbourne, Australia she struck rocks of Kings Island and sank on 4th April 1845
... (Another 7 entries are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Sources +

Hozier, Charles D, and Antoine Bachelin-Delforenne. État présent De La Noblesse française (1883-1887): Contenant Le Distionnaire De La Noblesse Contemporaine Et Larmorial général De France, Dapres Les Manuscrits De Ch. D Hozier. Librairie Des Bibliophiles, 1884. Print.
Olivier, Reginald L. Your Ancient Canadian Family Ties. Logan: The Everton Publishers, Inc., P.O. Box 368, 1972. Print
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
"Most Common Last Names in Australia." Forebears, https://forebears.io/australia/surnames
"Most Common Last Names in New Zealand." Forebears, https://forebears.io/new-zealand/surnames
"UK surname ranking." UK Surname map, https://www.surnamemap.eu/unitedkingdom/surnames_ranking.php?p=10
Convict Records of Australia. Retrieved 4th February 2021 from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Convict Records of Australia. Retrieved 4th February 2021 from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/charlotte
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 22nd March 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/coromandel-and-experiment
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 25th November 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/caledonia
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 21st September 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/fairlie
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) LADY EMMA 1837. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1837LadyEmma.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 10) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html