Robert

Robert is considered to be one of the names brought to England with the Norman Conquest. The English were, however, already using the name Hreodbeorht, and I have also seen one source report that the name the Normans brought was not Robert, but another similar name, in which case perhaps Robert represents a melding of the two names. In any case, whether the name comes from the Old English Hreodbeorht or the Germanic hrod 'fame' + berht 'bright,' the meaning is the same and comes down to "famous." And regardless of where they got it, the English of the Middle Ages loved the name Robert, and gave it to their children often, leading to the necessity for plenty of nicknames to differentiate between all those Roberts: Rob, Robbie, Bob, Bobby, Robin, and even nicknames such as Nob, Dob, Hob, and Dobbin. Of course, most of those nicknames have fallen out of use today, and few people would automatically associate "Dobbin" with "Robert," but the use of those nicknames gave us surnames such as Hopkins, Hobbs, and Dobson. Robert remains now as popular as it was in the Middle Ages, and has never really been out of use in the years in between. Famous Roberts are simply too many to name, but include three kings of Scotland, Scottish poet Robert Burns, U.S. Civil War General Robert E. Lee, one of my favorite actors of all time-- Robert Mitchum, and Robert F. Kennedy. Robert is one of the true classic names of all time, and is always an excellent choice for a baby boy.