English, French, German, Dutch, Hungarian (Róbert), etc: from a Germanic personal name composed of the elements hrōd ‘renown’ + berht ‘bright’, ‘famous’. This is found occasionally in England before the Conquest, but in the main it was introduced into England by the Normans and quickly became popular among all classes of society. The surname is also occasionally borne by Jews, as an Americanized form of one or more likesounding Jewish surnames.
FOREBEARS A Robert from La Rochelle, France is documented in Trois-Rivières, Quebec, in 1666, with the secondary surname Lafontaine. A family from the Saintonge region of France are recorded in Contrecoeur in 1681, with the secondary surname Deslauriers. Other secondary surnames include Saint-Amand, Breton and Lebreton, Watson, La Pomeray, Durandeau, and Dureau.
