Find out how popular the last name Robert is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Robert.

Robert, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Robert surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Robert in America

Robert is the 2944th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Robert surname appeared 12,181 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 4 people would have the surname Robert.

We can also compare 2010 data for Robert to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Robert

The surname Robert is an ancient one that can be traced back to the Germanic regions of Europe, particularly France and England. It is derived from the old Germanic words "hrod" meaning "fame" and "berht" meaning "bright." The name Robert essentially means "bright fame" or "shining with glory."

In medieval times, the name Robert was quite popular among the nobility and ruling classes. It first appeared in written records as early as the 9th century, with one of the earliest known references being in the Domesday Book of 1086, which documented landowners in England after the Norman Conquest.

Robert I, also known as Robert the Bruce, was a famous Scottish king who ruled from 1306 to 1329. He played a crucial role in the Scottish Wars of Independence against England. Another notable figure was Robert Guiscard, a Norman adventurer who conquered parts of southern Italy and Sicily in the 11th century and established the Hauteville dynasty.

During the Renaissance period, Robert Grosseteste (c. 1175-1253) was an influential English philosopher, theologian, and Bishop of Lincoln. He made significant contributions to the scientific method and is considered a forerunner of the modern scientific movement. Robert Hooke (1635-1703), an English polymath, was a renowned scientist and architect who made important discoveries in various fields, including optics and microscopy.

In the literary world, Robert Browning (1812-1889) was a renowned English poet and playwright, whose works include famous poems such as "My Last Duchess" and "The Pied Piper of Hamelin." Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894), a Scottish novelist, essayist, and travel writer, is best known for his classic novels "Treasure Island" and "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde."

The surname Robert has also been associated with various place names throughout history, such as Robertsbridge in East Sussex, England, and Robertville in Belgium. These places likely derived their names from individuals bearing the surname or from other historical connections to the name.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Robert

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Robert.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Robert was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Robert has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Robert was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Robert, please contact us.

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