Robert Whaley

(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 Whaley in Derbyshire, Whalley in Lancashire, or Whaley Bridge in Derbyshire (formerly in Cheshire). The first is probably named with Old English wælla ‘spring’, ‘stream’ + lēah ‘(woodland) clearing’. The second has as the first element Old English hwæl ‘round hill’, and the last has Old English weg ‘path’, ‘road’ as the first element, the second element in both cases also being lēah.