Robert
Meaning of Robert
Robert derives from the Old High German name Hrodebert, a compound of hruod, meaning fame, and beraht, meaning bright. Standard name dictionaries therefore give the meaning as bright fame. The name was brought to England by the Normans and became well established there during the medieval period. It has been common in English-speaking countries for centuries. It is pronounced RAH-bert in both American and British English, with the stress on the first syllable and a sounded final t.
Robert Frost, the American poet whose plainspoken verse about rural New England earned him four Pulitzer Prizes, is one of the name's best-known literary bearers; his work often draws on the speech and landscape of the region. In film, Robert De Niro, a two-time Academy Award winner honored for The Godfather Part II and Raging Bull, is among its most familiar namesakes.
Robert ranked first among boys' names in the United States from 1924 through 1939, and its highest annual count came in 1947, when 91,655 boys were given the name. It has become much less common since, ranking 92nd in 2025, when 3,772 boys received it.
Pronunciation
American English
- Pronunced as RAH-bert (/'rɑbərt/)
British English
- Pronunced as RAH-bert (/'rɒbərt/)
U.S. Popularity Chart
States Popularity Chart
Notable People Named Robert
| Robert De Niro is an American actor, director, and producer, widely hailed as one of his generation's greatest, with two Academy Awards, a Golden Globe, and major lifetime honors from AFI, the Kennedy Center, SAG, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. |
| Sir Robert Menzies was an Australian lawyer and politician who twice served as prime minister first with the UAP then as inaugural Liberal leader and he remains the longest serving prime minister in Australian history. |
| Robert Downey Jr., known as RDJ, is an American actor and Time 100 honoree among the highest-grossing stars, with an Oscar, an Emmy, Golden Globes, BAFTAs, and SAG Awards. |
| Sir Robert Laird Borden was the eighth prime minister of Canada from 1911 to 1920 and led the nation through World War I. |
| An American actor, director, and producer, Charles Robert Redford Jr. rose to fame as a magnetic American New Wave leading man and across more than six decades earned an Academy Award, a BAFTA, multiple Golden Globes, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. |
| Robert III of Scotland - Robert III, born John Stewart and the eldest son of Robert II and Elizabeth Mure, was King of Scots from 1390 to 1406, having earlier served as High Steward and Earl, and was legitimized by his parents second marriage and a papal dispensation. |
| Robert Frost was an American poet who used New England rural life and everyday speech to explore complex social and philosophical themes. |
| Robert Duvall is an American actor whose seven-decade career has made him one of the greatest actors, honored with an Academy Award, a BAFTA, four Golden Globes, two Emmys, and a SAG Award. |
| Robert Anthony Rodriguez is an American filmmaker and composer best known for the Mexico Trilogy starting with El Mariachi and for making many of his films in Texas and Mexico. |
| Robert Guiscard, also known as Robert de Hauteville, was a Norman conqueror of southern Italy and Sicily in the 11th century. |
| Robert Evans was an American film producer and studio executive known for Rosemary's Baby, Love Story, The Godfather, and Chinatown. |
| Robert Robert Livingston, a New York lawyer, politician, and diplomat, was a Founding Father known as the Chancellor who helped draft the Declaration of Independence, administered the oath to George Washington in 1789, and later joined the American Philosophical Society. |
