(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 Kynsey, a survival of Old English Cynesige, composed of the elements cyne ‘royal’ + sige ‘victory’.
This name may also have assimilated some cases of Scottish MacKenzie, with the Mac prefix omitted.
Possibly an Americanized spelling of Swiss German Künzi (see Kuenzi).
FOREBEARS The paternal grandfather of NJ and PA legislator John Kinsey (1693–1750) was one of the commissioners sent out from England in 1677 by the West Jersey proprietors to buy land from the Indians and to lay out a town. John was the leader of the Quaker party in the PA assembly and chief justice of the PA supreme court.
