(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.
Scottish (also found in Ireland): reduced form of McDow. This surname is borne by a sept of the Buchanans.
English: variant of Daw.
Americanized spelling of Dutch Douw, an Old Frisian personal name.
Americanized spelling of German Dau.
FOREBEARS Henry Dow (1634–1707), NH soldier and statesman, was born at Ormsby in Norfolkshire, England. His father migrated with his family to Watertown in the colony of Massachusetts Bay in 1637 and moved to Hampton in the province of NH in 1644. Henry became an influential and prosperous figure in Hampton. He married twice and had four sons.The Dutch name Douw is recorded in Beverwijck in New Netherland (Albany, NY) in the mid 17th century.
