Robert Dove

(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: from Middle English dove, Old English dūfe ‘dove’ (or perhaps occasionally from the Old Norse cognate dúfa), applied as a nickname for a mild and gentle person or as a metonymic occupational name for a keeper of doves. The Old English word was used as a personal name for either sex in the early Middle English period, and the surname at least in part derives from this use.