Ethelbert

Ethelbert is an Old English masculine name composed of the elements æthel, meaning noble, and beorht, meaning bright or famous, giving the overall sense of nobly bright or illustriously noble. The name was borne by several early medieval English figures, most notably Æthelberht of Kent, the late sixth-century king who became the first English ruler to convert to Christianity and under whom Augustine of Canterbury began his mission. The name fell largely out of use after the Norman Conquest but was occasionally revived during the nineteenth-century antiquarian interest in Anglo-Saxon heritage. Related forms include Ethelbert's Old English spelling Æthelberht and the feminine cognate Ethelbertha.