(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: 1. name for someone who was related to an important local personality, from Middle English maugh, maw ‘relative’, especially by marriage (from Old English māge ‘female relative’). In the north of England this term was used more specifically to mean ‘brother-in-law’. 2. topographic name from Middle English mawe ‘meadow’. Some early forms, such as Sibilla de la Mawe (Suffolk 1275), clearly indicate a topographic origin, by reason of the preposition and article. 3. probably also from a Middle English personal name, Mawe, Old English Mēawa, perhaps originally a byname from Old English mǣw ‘sea mew’, ‘seagull’ (compare Mew).
