(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 German: nickname for someone with a deformed hand or who had lost one hand, from Middle English hand, Middle High German hant, found in such appellations as Liebhard mit der Hand (Augsburg 1383).
Jewish (Ashkenazic): nickname from German Hand ‘hand’ (see 1).
Irish: Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Flaithimh (see Guthrie), resulting from an erroneous association of the Gaelic name with the Gaelic word lámh ‘hand’. It is used as an English equivalent for several other names of Gaelic origin too, e.g. Claffey, Glavin, and McClave.
Dutch: from a variant of hont ‘dog’, ‘hound’, either a derogatory nickname, or a habitational name for someone living at a house distinguished by the sign of a dog.
