Robert


The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright". Compare Old Dutch Robrecht and Old High German Hrodebert. It is also in use as a surname. It is the second most frequently used given name of ancient Germanic origin.
After becoming widely used in Continental Europe it entered England in its Old French form Robert, where an Old English cognate form 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

Trivia

The name Robert was also a royal name in France, Germany, Scotland 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.
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.

Geographical distribution

As of 2014, 27.0% of all known bearers of the surname Robert were residents of France, 22.8% of Tanzania, 10.6% of Nigeria, 6.0% of the United States, 3.7% of Canada, 2.9% of Papua New Guinea, 2.5% of Malawi, 2.2% of Kenya, 2.1% of Rwanda, 1.9% of Togo, 1.3% Haiti, 1.2% of Belgium, 1.2% of Liberia, 1.1% of Sudan and 1.1% of South Africa.
In France, the frequency of the surname was higher than national average in the following regions:

Royalty

;Kings of Scotland
;Kings of France
;King of Naples
;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
;Latin Emperor and Emperor of Constantinople
;Duke of Sicily and Prince of Benevento

Indo-European

Germanic

Semitic

Finno-Ugric