Robert Barsky

(male) One of the many French names of Germanic origin that were introduced into Britain by the Normans; it has since remained in continuous use. It is derived from the nearly synonymous elements hrōd ‘fame’ + berht ‘bright, famous’, and had a native Old English predecessor of similar form (Hreodbeorht), which was supplanted by the Norman name. Two dukes of Normandy in the 11th century bore the name: the father of William the Conqueror (sometimes identified with the legendary Robert the Devil), and his eldest son. It was borne also by three kings of Scotland, notably Robert the Bruce (1274–1329), who freed Scotland from English domination. The altered short form Bob is very common, but Hob and Dob, which were common in the Middle Ages and gave rise to surnames, are extinct. See also Rupert.

Jewish (from Ukraine) and Ukrainian: habitational name for someone from the city of Bar, now in Ukraine. In the 16th century this was an important frontier fortress of the Polish Empire against the Turks and the Tartars, which in the 18th century became the center of a confederation. Its original name was Rów; it was given its present name in honor of the Italian city of Bari by Bona Sforza, Duchess of Bari, wife of King Zygmunt Stary (Sigismund the Old).