Robert Stafford

(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.

English: habitational name from any of the various places in England so called, which do not all share the same etymology. The county seat of Staffordshire (which is probably the main source of the surname) is named from Old English stæð ‘landing place’ + ford ‘ford’. Examples in Devon seem to have as their first element Old English stān ‘stone’, and one in Sussex is probably named with Old English stēor ‘steer’, ‘bullock’.