Meaning and history
Róbert comes from the Germanic name Hrodebert, meaning “bright fame,” formed from hruod, “fame,” and beraht, “bright.” The Normans brought the name to Britain, where it replaced the rare Old English cognate Hreodbeorht, and it remained one of the most common English names from the 13th through the 20th century. In the United States, it was the most popular boys’ name from 1924 to 1939 and again in 1953. It has been borne by two kings of the Franks, two dukes of Normandy, and three kings of Scotland, including Robert the Bruce, who restored Scottish independence from England in the 14th century, and several saints, the earliest known as Saint Rupert, from an Old German variant. Notable namesakes also include the writers Robert Browning, Robert Burns, and Robert Frost, as well as Robert E. Lee and the actors Robert Redford, Robert De Niro, and Robert Downey Jr.
20062006: 9,911 births, rank #47
2007: 9,388 births, rank #47
2008: 8,841 births, rank #49
2009: 7,842 births, rank #55
2010: 7,569 births, rank #54
20112011: 6,984 births, rank #62
2012: 6,963 births, rank #60
2013: 6,721 births, rank #62
2014: 6,660 births, rank #60
2015: 6,137 births, rank #63
20162016: 6,010 births, rank #62
2017: 5,566 births, rank #65
2018: 5,191 births, rank #71
2019: 4,853 births, rank #76
2020: 4,402 births, rank #80
20212021: 4,436 births, rank #79
2022: 4,082 births, rank #84
2023: 3,827 births, rank #88
2024: 3,806 births, rank #90
20252025: 3,772 births, rank #92
Robert climbed to #1 for boys from 1924 through 1939. It remains prominent at #92 in 2025. Its highest annual birth count came in 1947, with 91,655 births.