Robert
What does the name Robert mean?
The meaning of the name “Robert” is: “Bright fame”.
Additional information: Robert is a masculine name of Germanic origin, and originally derived from the Old High German name Hrodebert, which came from hroud (fame, glory) and berth (bright), giving Robert the meaning ‘Bright Fame’. It was introduced to the English language by the Normans, and effectively replaced the much longer name Hreodbeorht. The Low German form is Ruprecht, meaning that the name Rupert can be used as a similar replacement for Robert.
Diminutives for Robert can either involve shortening the name (Rob, Robbie, Bert or Bertie), or nicknames such as Bob, Bobby or Robin. Feminine forms of the name Robert include Bobbie, Roberta and Robyn, with similar diminutives to their masculine equivalent. As the name descended from German, it has a number of foreign variants, including Roberto (Italian), Ruperto (Spanish), and Hopcyn (Welsh). Robert is commonly misspelled as ‘Rober’, ‘Robet’, and ‘Robbert’.
Robert has been a consistently popular name in the English language since its introduction after the Norman Conquest. It was consistently the most popular name for boys in the USA from 1924 to 1939, but since the start of the twenty-first century its popularity has waned slightly – it was the 61st most popular name for boys in 2014. Up until the late eighties, Robert saw some popularity as a feminine name, although it never reached higher than the top 300 names. Robert is a less popular name in England and Wales, but not by much – it was the 96th most popular name for boys in 2014.
Famous celebrities with the name Robert include film director Robert Altman, composer Robert Schumann, Scottish novelist Robert Louis Stevenson, poets Robert Burns and Robert Browning, Robert De Niro (American actor), Robert Redford (actor) and Robert Duvall (American actor and director). Famous scientists bearing the name include Robert Hooke, Robert Boyle and Robert Oppenheimer. It has also been the name of rulers from Normandy, Germany, France, Naples, and Scotland. Robert (Bobby) Kennedy was the younger brother of US President John F Kennedy and was US Attorney General. He was later assassinated.
There have been various saints named Robert. St. Robert of Molesme was one of the founders of the Cistercian monastic order. St Robert Bellarmine was a Catholic Cardinal, and is one of the Doctors of the Church.
There were three kings of Scotland named Robert. The first was Robert the Bruce, who expelled the English led by Edward II from Scotland, concluding the war of independence with the Battle of Bannockburn.
The inspiration for Chucky, the doll from the horror film Child’s Play, was a doll named Robert owned by the painter and author Robert Eugene Otto. The doll was supposedly cursed, and has been credited with moving his face, talking, moving furniture, cursing other people, and even murder.
Diminutives for Robert can either involve shortening the name (Rob, Robbie, Bert or Bertie), or nicknames such as Bob, Bobby or Robin. Feminine forms of the name Robert include Bobbie, Roberta and Robyn, with similar diminutives to their masculine equivalent. As the name descended from German, it has a number of foreign variants, including Roberto (Italian), Ruperto (Spanish), and Hopcyn (Welsh). Robert is commonly misspelled as ‘Rober’, ‘Robet’, and ‘Robbert’.
Robert has been a consistently popular name in the English language since its introduction after the Norman Conquest. It was consistently the most popular name for boys in the USA from 1924 to 1939, but since the start of the twenty-first century its popularity has waned slightly – it was the 61st most popular name for boys in 2014. Up until the late eighties, Robert saw some popularity as a feminine name, although it never reached higher than the top 300 names. Robert is a less popular name in England and Wales, but not by much – it was the 96th most popular name for boys in 2014.
Famous celebrities with the name Robert include film director Robert Altman, composer Robert Schumann, Scottish novelist Robert Louis Stevenson, poets Robert Burns and Robert Browning, Robert De Niro (American actor), Robert Redford (actor) and Robert Duvall (American actor and director). Famous scientists bearing the name include Robert Hooke, Robert Boyle and Robert Oppenheimer. It has also been the name of rulers from Normandy, Germany, France, Naples, and Scotland. Robert (Bobby) Kennedy was the younger brother of US President John F Kennedy and was US Attorney General. He was later assassinated.
There have been various saints named Robert. St. Robert of Molesme was one of the founders of the Cistercian monastic order. St Robert Bellarmine was a Catholic Cardinal, and is one of the Doctors of the Church.
There were three kings of Scotland named Robert. The first was Robert the Bruce, who expelled the English led by Edward II from Scotland, concluding the war of independence with the Battle of Bannockburn.
The inspiration for Chucky, the doll from the horror film Child’s Play, was a doll named Robert owned by the painter and author Robert Eugene Otto. The doll was supposedly cursed, and has been credited with moving his face, talking, moving furniture, cursing other people, and even murder.
Categories: American Names, Australian Names, British Names, Canadian Names, Classic Names, English Names, French Names, Germanic Names, Movie Star Names, Norman Names, Russian Names, Scottish Names, Teutonic Names
Used in: Czech speaking countries, Danish speaking countries, Dutch speaking countries, English speaking countries, French speaking countries, German speaking countries, Hungarian speaking countries, Norwegian speaking countries, Swedish speaking countries
Gender: Boy Names
Starts with: R
