(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.
Irish: reduced Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó hAodha ‘descendant of Aodh’, a personal name meaning ‘fire’ (compare McCoy). In some cases, especially in County Wexford, the surname is of English origin (see below), having been taken to Ireland by the Normans.
English: habitational name from any of various places, for example in Devon and Worcestershire, so called from the plural of Middle English hay ‘enclosure’ (see Hay 1), or a topographic name from the same word.
English: habitational name from any of various places, for example in Dorset, Greater London (formerly in Kent and Middlesex), and Worcestershire, so called from Old English hǣse ‘brushwood’, or a topographic name from the same word.
English: patronymic from Hay 3.
French: variant (plural) of Haye 3.
Jewish (Ashkenazic): metronymic from Yiddish name Khaye ‘life’ + the Yiddish possessive suffix -s.
FOREBEARS U.S. President Rutherford B. Hayes (1822–1893), born in Delaware, OH, was descended from old New England families on both sides. Through the paternal line he was descended from George Hayes, who emigrated from Scotland in 1680 and settled in Windsor, CT.
