Robert

English from German
"bright fame"

Robert Origin and Meaning

The name Robert is a boy's name of German, English origin meaning "bright fame".

Robert was the Number 1 boys' name in the US in both 1925 and 1950, and in fact was in the Top 25 for more than a century, giving it true classic status. Strong if not quite stylish, Robert remains in the Top 100 for baby boys as a family favorite.

Robert was derived from the ancient Germanic name Hrodebert, from the elements hrod, meaning "fame" and bertha, "bright." Robert was the name of three kings of Scotland, including Robert the Bruce, who freed Scotland from English rule. The name was brought to England by the Normans.

Nicknames Bob and Bobby are stuck in the past, while Rob, Robb and Robby/Robbie have an ever so slightly more modern appeal. Antiquated pet forms Dob, Hob, Rab and Rabbie might be fresh nicknames, but the most fashionable form of Robert today is....Robert.

There are countless literary and real-life namesakes, from poets Frost and Burns to actors Redford and De Niro to Shark Tank businessperson Robert Herjavec. Modern parents might consider honoring an ancestral Robert by choosing Robertson or Robinson, or even the derivative Robin, rising in popularity for boys.

# 89 in the US

Robert Rank in US Top 1000

# 295 on Nameberry

Robert Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Robert Popularity

Famous People Named Robert

  • Robert I and II
    Kings of the Franks
  • Robert I
    Duke of Normandy, father of William the Conqueror
  • Robert of Jumièges
    first Norman Archbishop of Canterbury
  • Robert the Bruce
    King of Scotland
  • Robert II and III
    Kings of Scotland
  • Robert
    King of Naples
  • Robert Catesby
    leader of the English Gunpowder Plot of 1605
  • Robert Burns
    Scottish poet and national treasure
  • Robert Louis Stevenson
    Scottish novelist
  • Robert Edward Lee
    American Confederate Civil War general
  • Robert Todd Lincoln
    son of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln
  • Robert Gould Shaw
    Civil War Colonel of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment
  • Robert Michael Ballantyne
    British author
  • Robert Taylor (born Spangler Arlington Brugh)
    American actor
  • Robert Emmet
    Irish Republican Patriot, Orator and Rebel Leader
  • Robert Francis "Bobby" Kennedy
    U.S. Attorney General and Senator from New York, Husband of Ethel Skakel
  • Robert Joseph "Bob" Dole
    U.S. Senator from Kansas
  • Robert Selden Duvall
    American actor
  • (Charles) Robert Redford
    American actor and director
  • Robert Allen Zimmerman
    birth name of Bob Dylan, American singer,songwriter
  • Robert Nesta "Bob" Marley
    Jamaican reggae singer,songwriter
  • Robert John Downey Jr.
    American actor
  • Robert Roldan
    American contemporary dancer
  • Robert De Niro
    American actor
  • Robert Patrick "Rob" Benedict
    actor
  • Robert "Rob" James McElhenney
    American actor, writer, and producer
  • Robert Carlyle
    Scottish actor
  • Robert James Smith
    musician of English band The Cure
  • Robert Michael Sheehan (Irish: Roibeárd Mícheál Ó Siodhacháin)
    Irish actor
  • Robert Anthony Plant
    lead singer of English band Led Zeppelin
  • Robert Gordon Menzies
    12th Prime Minister of Australia
  • Robert Douglas Thomas Pattinson
    English actor
  • Robert Albert Bloch
    American novelist
  • Robert David Hall
    American actor
  • Robert Hammond Patrick Jr.
    American actor
  • Robert George Young
    American actor
  • Robert Sylvester Kelly aka R. Kelly
    American R&B singer
  • Robert Bartleh Cummings aka Rob Zombie
    American musician
  • Robert Betts Laughlin
    American physicist and Nobel prize winner
  • Robert Alan "Rob" Morrow
    American actor
  • Robert Barton Englund
    American actor
  • Robert Falcon Scott
    British Naval officer and Antarctic explorer
  • Robert Randolph Garran
    1st Solicitor,General of Australia
  • Robert Burnell
    Lord Chancellor of England
  • Robert Philippe Louis Eugène Ferdinand
    Prince of Orléans, Duke of Chartres, grandson of King Louis,Philippe of France
  • (James) Robert Cade
    American researcher who invented Gatorade
  • Robert Hues
    English geographer
  • Robert Thomas Christgau
    American journalist and music critic
  • Robert Stanley "Rob" Dyrdek
    American skateboarder
  • Robert Hepler "Rob" Lowe
    American actor
  • Robert George Kardashian
    American attorney and businessman; patriarch of TV's Kardashian family
  • Robert Arthur "Rob" Kardashian
    American reality TV personality; son of Robert Kardashian
  • Robert 'Rob' Grote
    singer of America band The Districts
  • Robert Alfred 'Bobby' Morley
    Australian actor
  • Robert Vito
    American actor
  • Robert C. Springer
    American astronaut
  • Robert Patrick "Robbie" Amell
    Canadian actor and model
  • Robert Hunter Biden
    son of VP Joe Biden
  • Robert Fico
    Prime Minister of Slovakia
  • Robert Fredrick "Rob" Paulsen III
    American voice actor
  • Robert Mondavi
    leading California vineyard operator who brought worldwide recognition to the wines of Napa Valley
  • Robert Morgan
    British filmmaker, director and writer
  • Robert Benoît Paul Henri James Marie
    Prince of Orléans, Petit,Fils de France, Count of la Marche (b. 1976), son of Prince Thibaut
  • Robert Clarence Irwin
    Australian animal expert; son of the late Steve Irwin
  • Robert "Bob" Irwin
    Australian naturalist, animal conservationist, former zookeeper, and a pioneering herpetologist; father of the late Steve Irwin
  • Robert Galbraith
    pen name of the British novelist JK Rowling
  • Robert Ford Wilson (b. 2011)
    son of American actor Owen Wilson
  • Robert Glatzel
    German footballer
  • Robert Wisdom
    American actor
  • Robert Knepper
    American actor
  • Robert Ellis Smith IV (b. 2018)
    son of Bobby & Tori Smith
  • Robert Franzese
    New York based cosplayer , called the "Real Life Peter Griffin" because of his strong resemblance to the "Family Guy' Character
  • Robert Pine (born Granville Whitelaw Pine)
    American actor and director
  • Robert Maltby (b. 1985)
    21 year old British man who was attacked for being goth in 2007 and luckily survived

Robert in Pop Culture

  • Robert Baratheon
    character in the "Game of Thrones" series
  • Robert Barone
    character on TV's "Everybody Loves Raymond"
  • Robert "Rob" McGroarty
    character in "The Brave Little Toaster"
  • Robert "Bobby" Pendragon
    character in the Pendragon series by D. J. MacHale
  • Dr. Robert Chase
    character on TV's "House"
  • Robert California
    character on TV's "The Office"
  • Robert Frobisher
    character in book/movie ''The Cloud Atlas''
  • Robert Crawley
    Earl of Grantham, character on TV's "Downton Abbey"
  • Robert Steven "Bobby" Singer
    character on TV's "Supernatural"
  • Robert Townsend
    character in "Yesterday's Child," by Barbara Wood
  • Robert Hammond
    character in video game 'Ace Attorney'
  • Robert Small
    character in video game "Dream Daddy"
  • "Dr. Robert
    " song by The Beatles
  • Robert Dyas
    London retail shop
  • Robert Edwin House
    a character in "Fallout: New Vegas"
  • Robert Clark
    character in "Fran Bow"
  • Dr. Robert Bruce Banner
    also known as Hulk, character in Marvel Universe
  • Robert "Bobby" Louis Drake
    also known as Iceman, character in Marvel Universe
  • Robert Lanyon
    character in "The Glass Scientists"
  • Robert Alan Queen
    character in DC Universe
  • Robert "Robbie" Stacey Valentino
    character in "Gravity Falls"
  • Robert Quinn
    Callie's biological father on Freeform's "The Fosters"
  • Robert April
    First Captain of the Starship Enterprise NCC,1701 in the Star Trek Franchise
  • Robert "Bobby" Nash
    Character on ABC's "9-1-1"