Hubert
A medieval personal name meaning “bright heart” or “famous mind,” later adopted as a surname.
The #3,439 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 29,744 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Hubert comes from an old Germanic personal name made from elements usually explained as "hug" meaning "mind, heart, spirit" and "beraht" meaning "bright, famous." The name passed into Old French and then into English as a given name; the surname developed from that personal name. In England, related family names such as Hubbard, Hibbert, Hibbs, and others were later formed from the same source.
History
The name was well established in medieval England, helped by continental and Norman usage. Historical dictionaries note that English surnames derived from Hubert often appear in altered spellings, including Hubbard and Hibbert, reflecting local pronunciation and spelling habits. The surname also appears in records connected with noble and gentry families, but the core origin is simply from the personal name Hubert.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The same old name that produced the surname Hubert also gave rise to several very different-looking English surnames, especially Hubbard and Hibbert.
From the historical record
“HUBER. See Hubert. HUBERT. The personal name. Among its derivatives in English family nomen- clature we have Hubbard, Hibbert, Hib- bins, Hibbs, Hibson, or Ibson, and probably Ibbotsou. HUCKETT. See Huggett, HUCKIN. BrobablyHnghkin, a diminu- tive of Hugh, like Huggin. HUCKSTEPP. Local : "of the high”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom