Horst

Meaning & origin●

Attested in 1 language in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Horst is also recorded as 4 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• English given name87K records spelled Horst2 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Australia, Canada, United Kingdom

  Also written Hörst

• Portuguese given name28K records spelled Horst5 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Brazil, Argentina, United States, Spain

  Languages: Portuguese, Spanish

  Also written Hörst

• Czech given name4.6K records spelled Horst3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Czechia, Slovakia, United States

  Languages: Czech, Slovak

  Also written Hörst

• a separate given name3.6K records spelled Horst2 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Netherlands

  Also written Hörst

70 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Horst is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In German, Toponymic surname from the settlement name Horst; also linked to the place-name Hurst (bei Windeck/Sieg), not clearly distinguishable as dwelling/place-name origin. 4176 tokens.

  as a name·Deutscher Familiennamenatlas, Band 4: Familiennamen nach Herkunft und Wohnstätte

• In German, Toponymic surname from Horst 'thicket, scrub; elevated dry ground amid marsh'; historical forms and compounds are attested in many North German localities.

  as a name·Deutscher Familiennamenatlas, Band 4: Familiennamen nach Herkunft und Wohnstätte

• In German, from horst/hurst 'thicket, brushwood; sandy place in marshes'

  as a name·Deutsche Namenkunde: Unsere Familiennamen nach ihrer Entstehung und Bedeutung

• In German, the nest of a bird of prey, an eyrie

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• In German, Toponymischer Familienname: aus mnd. horst, mhd. hurst 'Busch-/Gehölz, Gestrüpp; erhöhter, buschiger Platz', nach Wohnstätte bzw. Herkunft von einem solchen Ort.

  as a name·Deutscher Familiennamenatlas, Band 4: Familiennamen nach Herkunft und Wohnstätte

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

AT Statistik Austria — Vornamen der Geborenen (1984–present) — 28 years between 1984–2022. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Horst Wesselb. 1907DESA officer (1907-1930)
• Horst Sindermannb. 1915DEPrime Minister of East Germany (1915-1990)
• Horst Eckelb. 1932DEGerman association football player (1932–2021)
• Horst Buchholzb. 1933DEGerman actor (1933–2003)
• Horst Mahlerb. 1936DEGerman political activist (1936–2025)
• Horst Köhlerb. 1943DEGerman politician (CDU); president of Germany, 2004–2010
• Horst Seehoferb. 1949DEGerman politician (CSU) and former Federal Minister of the Interior (born 1949)
• Horst Ludwig Störmerb. 1949DEGerman physicist
• Horst Hrubeschb. 1951DEGerman association football player and manager
• André Schürrleb. 1990DEnot in their usual nameGerman association football player (born 1990)

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 297 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Horst?

We estimate roughly 4.9 thousand people bear Horst (counting its spellings and scripts) across 14 countries in our records.

In which country does Horst have the most bearers?

Horst is most frequently recorded in Germany, where it is most often spelled horst.

How common is Horst compared with other names?

In Germany, Horst is the 42nd most common given name of 154,506 given names recorded there.

Is Horst a male or female name?

Horst is a male name in our records. Opposite-gender entries fall within the cross-gender noise we measure in the source data, so we don't report them as usage.

What does the name Horst mean?

Recorded meaning: Toponymic surname from mhd.