(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: from the Middle English personal name Edun, Old English Ēadhūn, composed of the elements ēad ‘prosperity’, ‘wealth’ + hūn ‘bear-cub’.
English: habitational name from Castle Eden or Eden Burn in County Durham, both of which derive from a British river name perhaps meaning ‘water’, recorded by the Greek geographer Ptolemy in the 2nd century AD in the form Ituna.
German: habitational name any of several places, mainly in Bavaria and Austria, so named from Middle High German oede ‘wasteland’ + the dative suffix -n.
Frisian: patronymic from the personal name Ede.
FOREBEARS Charles Eden (1673–1722), colonial governor of NC under the lords proprietors from 1714 onward, used the armorial bearings of the family of Eden of the county palatine of Durham in the north of England. Of the same connection was Sir Robert Eden, last royal governor of MD.
