Robert Dabney

(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.

English (of both Norman and Huguenot origin): altered form of French d’Aubigné, a habitational name for someone from any of the various places in northern France called Aubigny or Aubigné, named with the Romano-Gallic personal name Albinius (a derivative of Latin albus ‘white’; compare Alban and Albin) + the locative suffix -acum.