(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.
Short forms: Bob, Rob.
Pet forms: Bobby, Robbie, Robin.
Cognates: Irish: Roibéard. Scottish Gaelic: Raibeart. German: Robert, Rupprecht. Dutch: Robrecht, Rob(b)ert. Scandinavian: Robert. French: Robert. Spanish, Portuguese, Italian: Roberto. Czech: Robert. Finnish: Roopertti. Hungarian: Róbert. Latvian: Roberts.
English and Irish: from a word that originally denoted a wine steward, usually the chief servant of a medieval household, from Norman French butuiller (Old French bouteillier, Latin buticularius, from buticula ‘bottle’). In the large households of royalty and the most powerful nobility, the title came to denote an officer of high rank and responsibility, only nominally concerned with the supply of wine, if at all.
Anglicized form of French Boutilier.
Jewish (from Poland and Ukraine): occupational name for a bottle maker, from Yiddish butl ‘bottle’ + the agent suffix -er.
FOREBEARS This name was brought independently to New England by many bearers from the 17th century onward. William Butler was one of the founders of Hartford, CT, (coming from Cambridge, MA, with Thomas Hooker) in 1635. A Massachusetts family called Butler is descended from Nicholas Butler, who came to Dorchester, MA, from Ashford, Kent, England, in 1636 and subsequently moved to Martha's Vineyard.The name is also very common in Ireland. Irish bearers trace their ancestry to Theobald FitzWalter, who accompanied Henry II to Ireland in 1170 and in 1177 was created ‘Chief Butler’ (i.e. overlord) of Ireland by the king. FitzWalter's descendant James Butler (1665–1745), 2nd Duke of Ormonde, was a staunch Protestant and supporter of William of Orange in 1685. He served as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland and became Commander-in-Chief of the British army. But after the death of Queen Anne he opposed the accession of George I and took part in a Jacobite rising (1715), after which he spent the rest of his life in exile.
