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

Robinson, 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 Robinson surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Robinson in America

Robinson is the 30th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Robinson surname appeared 529,821 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 180 people would have the surname Robinson.

We can also compare 2010 data for Robinson 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 Robinson

The surname Robinson is of English origin and dates back to the medieval period. It is a patronymic name derived from the personal name "Robin" or "Robert", with the addition of the suffix "-son", meaning "son of". The name "Robin" itself was a diminutive form of the Germanic name "Robrecht", which was composed of the elements "hrōd" (meaning "fame" or "renown") and "berht" (meaning "bright" or "famous").

One of the earliest known bearers of the surname was recorded in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273, where a Thomas Robynessone was mentioned in Oxfordshire. The Domesday Book of 1086 does not contain any direct references to the surname Robinson, but it does mention individuals with the personal name "Robert" or its variants.

The name Robinson was particularly prevalent in the northern counties of England, such as Yorkshire and Lancashire. It may have originated from place names like Robingate in Yorkshire or Roby in Lancashire, though the connection is not certain.

During the 13th and 14th centuries, the surname Robinson began appearing more frequently in various records and documents. Some notable individuals bearing this name include:

1. John Robinson (c. 1576–1625), an English Puritan minister and a leader of the Pilgrims who sailed on the Mayflower to establish the Plymouth Colony in 1620.

2. Robert Robinson (1735–1790), an English Baptist minister and hymn writer, best known for composing the hymn "Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing".

3. Mary Robinson (1758–1800), an English actress, poet, and writer, known for her semi-autobiographical work "Memoirs of the Late Mrs. Robinson".

4. Edward G. Robinson (1893–1973), an American actor who played tough-guy roles in films like "Little Caesar" and "Key Largo".

5. Jackie Robinson (1919–1972), an American baseball player who broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball when he joined the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947.

As the surname Robinson spread across the English-speaking world, it became one of the most common surnames in countries like the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, among others.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Robinson

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

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 Robinson 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 Robinson 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 Robinson was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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