Robert

The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic *Hrōþi- "fame" and *berhta- "bright" (Hrōþiberhtaz).[1] Compare Old Dutch Robrecht and Old High German Hrodebert (a compound of Hruod (Old Norse: Hróðr) "fame, glory, honour, renown" and berht "bright, shining"). It is also in use as a surname. It is the second most frequently used given name of ancient Germanic origin.[2][3]

Robert
Robert I of Normandy a.k.a. Robert the Magnificent
Pronunciation/ˈrɒbərt/
French: [ʁɔ.bɛʁ]
German: [ˈʁoːbɛɐ̯t]
Czech: [ˈrobɛrt]
Slovak: [ˈrɔːbɛrt]
Serbo-Croatian: [rǒbert]
GenderMale
Name daySeptember 17
Origin
Word/nameGermanic
Meaning"fame-bright", "glory-bright"
Region of originGermanic countries (England, Scotland, Germany, Netherlands, Iceland, Scandinavian region (Denmark, Sweden, Norway))
Other names
Related namesRob (short form),
Robb (short form),
Roby (nickname),
Robbie (nickname),
Robby (nickname),
Ro (nickname),
Roe (nickname),
Bob (nickname),
Bobby (nickname),
Robrecht, Robin, Rupert
See alsoRoger, Roland, Rudolph, Roderick, Waldemar, Vladimir

After becoming widely used in Continental Europe it entered England in its Old French form Robert, where an Old English cognate form (Hrēodbēorht, Hrodberht, Hrēodbēorð, Hrœdbœrð, Hrœdberð, Hrōðberχtŕ) had existed before the Norman Conquest. The feminine version is Roberta. The Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish form is Roberto.

Robert is also a common name in many Germanic languages, including English, German, Dutch, Norwegian, Swedish, Scottish, Danish, and Icelandic. It can be used as a French, Polish, Irish, Finnish, Romanian, and Estonian name as well.

Variations

Bert, Bertie, Berto, Bertus (also short for Albert or Herbert)
Beto, Betinho (Portuguese)
Bo, Bob, Bobbie, Bobby
Beau
Chrodobert, Chrodobrecht (Frankish)
Dobbie, Dobby
Boris (Bulgarian) (possibly not etymologically connected, but linked together through nickname "Bob")
Hob, Hopkin (Medieval English)
Hopcyn (Welsh)
Hrodberaht, Hrodebert, Hrodpreht (Old High German)
Rab, Rabbie (Scots)
Raibeart (Scottish Gaelic)
Rhobert (Welsh)
Roibeárd, Riobárd (Irish)
Rob, Robb, Robbie, Robby (also short for Robin)
Rod
Robbe (Dutch, Frisian and Low German short form)
Roban
Robban (Swedish)
Robbert (Dutch)
Robbi, Hrobbi, Hrobjartur, Bjartur, Art (Icelandic)
Robercik or Robuś (Polish, "Little Robert")
Robere (Old French)
Ροβῆρος, Rovēros (Greek)
Róbert (Hungarian, Icelandic, Slovak)
Robertas (Lithuanian)
Roberto (Italian, Portuguese, Spanish)
Robertino (Italian, "Little Robert")
Robertinho (Portuguese, "Little Robert")
Роберт (Robert), Роман (Roman) (Russian)
Ροβέρτος, Rovértos (Greek)
Raivo (Estonian)
Roberts (Latvian)
Raivis (Latvian form of the Estonian variant)
Robertson (English given name)
Robertus (Latin)
Robetus (Medieval misspelling?)
Robi (Croatian, Hungarian, Romanian, Serbian)
Röbi (Swiss German)

Robin (Medieval diminutive in English, Dutch, Swedish)
Robo
Robrecht (Old Dutch)
Rochbert
Rodbeard, Rodbeart
Rodbert, Rodebert, Rotbert, Roteberht, Rotebert (Germanic)
Rodbertus, Rodepertus (Latin)
Rodebrecht (Old German)
Röpke (Low German diminutive form)
Rotbryht (Old English)
Rothbert
Roopertti, Pertti, Roope (Finnish)
Robertukka, Roopertukka, Tuukka (Finnish nicknames)
Ropars, Ropartz, Roparzh (Breton)
Ruben, Rupen, Roupen (Armenian)
Reuben (Hebrew)
Rutbert, Rubert, Ruby (Old Dutch)
Rudebet, Rudbert, Rudbert, Rudpert, Rudbrecht, Rudprecht
Rupert (Dutch, English, German, Polish)
Ruperto (Spanish)
Rupertus, Rvpertvs (Latin)
Rutpert, Ruppert, Rupprecht, Ruprecht (Upper German)
Trebor (reversal)


Feminine forms:
Bobbi, Bobbie
Robbi, Robbie
Roberta
Robertina, Robertine
Robina
Robyn, Robynne
Ruprette, Rupretta (archaic French)


Surnames:
Roberts, Robertson, Roberson, Robinson, Robero, Romero, Bertson, Bertke, Robertsen, Robertov, Robright

Trivia

King Robert I of Scotland

The name Robert was also a royal name in France, Germany and England during medieval period. Robert was the name of several kings, dukes, and other rulers and noblemen.

Robert was in the top 10 most given boys' names in the US for 47 years, from 1925 to 1972.[4]

Robert was one of the most popular male names in medieval Europe, likely due to its frequent usage amongst royalty and nobility. To this day Robert remains one of the most frequently given male names in the world.

The names second component, *berhta- , is the original root for the modern English word "bright".

The name Robert almost exactly shares the same meaning with the name Waldemar / Vladimir.

While some names become less frequently used due to negative associations, Robert is still widely used despite its connection to many negatively evaluated historical figures.

In Italy during the Second World War, the form of the name, Roberto, briefly acquired a new meaning derived from, and referring to the Rome-Berlin-Tokyo Axis.[5]

Geographical distribution

As of 2014, 27.0% of all known bearers of the surname Robert were residents of France (frequency 1:472), 22.8% of Tanzania (1:434), 10.6% of Nigeria (1:3,177), 6.0% of the United States (1:11,438), 3.7% of Canada (1:1,926), 2.9% of Papua New Guinea (1:534), 2.5% of Malawi (1:1,335), 2.2% of Kenya (1:3,929), 2.1% of Rwanda (1:1,018), 1.9% of Togo (1:721), 1.3% Haiti (1:1,631), 1.2% of Belgium (1:1,822), 1.2% of Liberia (1:722), 1.1% of Sudan (1:6,756) and 1.1% of South Africa (1:9,780).

In France, the frequency of the surname was higher than national average (1:472) in the following regions:[6]

People with the given name

Royalty

Kings of Scotland
Kings of France
King of Naples
  • Robert of Naples (1276-1343)
King of Germany
King of Hungary and Croatia
King of Bulgaria
Dukes of Normandy
Duke of Chartres
Duke of Parma
Count of Flanders
Crown Prince of Bavaria
  • Robert I, crown prince of Bavaria (1869-1955), also known as Prince Rupprecht, last heir apparent to the Bavarian throne, one of the most prominent military commanders of World War I, claimant to the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland
Latin Emperor and Emperor of Constantinople
Duke of Sicily and Prince of Benevento

Medieval Figures

Folk heroes

  • Robert Huntington, known as Robin Hood, legendary heroic outlaw and nobleman originally depicted in English folklore, highly skilled archer and swordsman, sometimes regarded as one of national heroes of England
  • Robert Roy Macgregor, Scottish outlaw and national hero

Nobility

Religious figures and saints

Presidents and Prime Ministers

Secretaries of Defense

Wartime Figures and Military Leaders

Other Military

Nazis

Nuclear physicists

Explorers

Movie industry

Musicians

Scientists

Intelligence officers

Criminals

Judges

Political Figures

Secretaries of State

Governors

Mayors

Founding fathers of United States

Literary figures

Businessmen

Astronauts

  • Robert L. Behnken, United States Air Force officer, NASA astronaut and former Chief of the Astronaut Office
  • Robert D. Cabana, director of NASA's John F. Kennedy Space Center, a former NASA astronaut, and a veteran of four Space Shuttle flights
  • Robert J. Cenker, American aerospace and electrical engineer, aerospace systems consultant, and former astronaut
  • Robert Crippen, American retired naval officer and aviator, test pilot, aerospace engineer, and retired astronaut
  • Robert Curbeam, former NASA astronaut and captain in the United States Navy
  • Robert A. Frosch, American scientist who was the fifth administrator of NASA from 1977 to 1981
  • Robert L. Gibson, former American naval officer and aviator, test pilot, aeronautical engineer, and a retired NASA astronaut, as well as a professional pilot and regular racer at the annual Reno Air Races
  • Robert S. Kimbrough, retired United States Army officer, and a NASA astronaut
  • Robert Lawrence Jr., a United States Air Force officer and the first African-American astronaut
  • Robert M. Lightfoot Jr., engineer and former Acting Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), serving from January 20, 2017 until April 23, 2018, making him the longest-serving Acting Administrator in NASA history
  • Robert F. Overmyer, American test pilot, naval aviator, aeronautical engineer, physicist, United States Marine Corps officer and USAF/NASA astronaut
  • Robert A. Parker, American physicist and astronomer, former Director of the NASA Management Office at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and a retired NASA astronaut
  • Robert Satcher, American physician, chemical engineer and NASA astronaut
  • Robert C. Springer, retired American astronaut and test pilot
  • Robert L. Stewart, retired brigadier general of the United States Army and a former NASA astronaut
  • Robert Thirsk, a Canadian engineer and physician, and a former Canadian Space Agency astronaut
  • Roberto Vittori, Italian air force officer and an ESA astronaut

Sportsmen

Paranormal

  • Robert the Doll, a supposedly haunted doll exhibited at a museum, center of an urban legend

Others

People with the surname

Fictional characters

Folklore

In different languages

Indo-European

Germanic

Baltic

Celtic

Hellenic

Romance

Slavic

Other

  • Albanian: Robert
  • Armenian: Ռոբերտ (Robert), Ռուբեն (Ruben), Ռուպեն (Rupen, Roupen)
  • Bengali: রবার্ট (Rabārṭa)
  • Esperanto: Robert, Roberto
  • Hindi: रॉबर्ट (Robart)
  • Kurdish: Robert
  • Nepali: रोबर्ट (Rōbarṭa)
  • Pashto: رابرټ (Robert)
  • Persian: رابرت (Robert)
  • Romani: Robert
  • Sanskrit: रॉबर्ट (Robart)
  • Tajik: Роберт
  • Urdu: رابرٹ (Robert)

Kartvelian

Afro-Asiatic

Semitic

  • Amharic: ሮበርት (Roberiti)
  • Arabic: روبرت (Robert)
  • Hebrew (Ivrit): רוברט (Robert), רובן (Ruben), ראובן (Reuben)

Other

Turkic

Uralic

Finno-Ugric

  • Estonian: Raivo
  • Finnish: Roobert, Roopertti, Roope
  • Hungarian: Róbert
  • Erzya: Роберт
  • Ingrian (Izhorian): Raivo, Raivert, Rovert, Robert
  • Karelian: Roope, Roopertti, Roobert, Robert, Роопе, Роопертти, Рооберт, Роберт
  • Khanty: Роберт
  • Komi: Роберт
  • Komi-Permyak: Роберт
  • Livonian: Raivo, Robert, Roobert
  • Ludic: Roope, Roopertti, Roobert, Robert
  • Mansi: Роберт
  • Mari: Роберт
  • Moksha: Роберт
  • Sámi: Roope, Roopertti, Roobert, Robert, Роопе, Роопертти, Рооберт, Роберт
  • Udmurt: Роберт
  • Veps: Roope, Roopertti, Roobert, Robert
  • Võro: Raivo
  • Votic: Robert
  • Zyrian: Роберт

Samoyedic

Austronesian

Sino-Tibetan

  • Burmese: ရောဘတ် (Rawbhaat)
  • Cantonese: 羅伯特 (Robert)
  • Chinese Simplified: 罗伯特 (Robert)
  • Chinese Traditional: 羅伯特 (Robert)
  • Classical Tibetan: རབཏ (Rabata)
  • Standard Tibetan: རབཏ (Rabata)

Niger-Congo

Other

See also

Names with a similar meaning

References

  1. "Robrecht". Historische woordenboeken: Nederlands en Fries (in Dutch). Instituut voor de Nederlandse Taal.
  2. Reaney & Wilson, 1997. Dictionary of English Surnames. Oxford University Press.
  3. Withycombe, E., 1973 edn. Oxford Dictionary of English Christian names. Oxford University Press.
  4. Frank Nuessel (1992). The Study of Names: A Guide to the Principles and Topics. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. p. 10. Retrieved September 11, 2013.   via Questia (subscription required)
  5. RoBerTo Checked, Time Magazine, October 19, 1942
  6. Robert surname distribution
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