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    The surname Robert

    A patronymic surname, carried by 12,181 people in the United States.

    Pronounced /ˈɹɑ.bɚt/ 2 syllables Soundex R163 Also a first name

    Robert: #2,944 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #1Smith#160,975Doriott#10Martinez#100Jimenez#1,000Archer#10,001Dubon Robert #2,944, 12,181 people Robert: #2,944 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #1Smith#160,975Doriott#100Jimenez Robert #2,944, 12,181 people
    Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Robert is more common than 98.2% of them.

    Origin

    From Anglo-Norman Robert, from the Old Frankish cognate of Old High German Hrodperht (normalised form: Ruodberht), from Proto-West Germanic *Hrōþiberht, from Proto-Germanic *Hrōþiberhtaz (literally “shining glory”). Displaced native Old English Hrōþberht from the same source, which would yield English Rothbert. Doublet of Rupert.

    Robert is a patronymic surname: formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.

    Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

    How common it is

    2010 US Census

    There were 12,181 people named Robert in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 25,346 Americans. That is about the same as in 2000, when the Census counted 12,129.

    #2,944
    rank among US surnames
    12,181
    people in 2010
    4.1
    per 100,000 Americans
    +0.4%
    change since 2000 (was #2,730)
    RankSurnamePeople1 in
    #2,940Herrick12,20225,303
    #2,942Nunes12,19125,326
    #2,943Harley12,18625,336
    #2,944Talbert12,18125,346

    Who is named Robert

    Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

    71% of people named Robert identified as white (not Hispanic), 16% as Black (not Hispanic) and 6.3% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

    • White (not Hispanic) 71%
    • Black (not Hispanic) 16%
    • Hispanic or Latino (any race) 6.3%
    • Asian and Pacific Islander 4.0%
    • Two or more races 2.1%
    • American Indian and Alaska Native 0.7%

    Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

    Famous Roberts

    4 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

    • Étienne-Gaspard Robert
      Belgian stage magician and influential developer of phantasmagoria (1763-1837)
    • Raúl Fernández Robert
      Basketball (1905–1982)
    • Fréderique Robert
      Belgian bicycle rider, born 1989
    • Richard Robert
      Austrian pianist, composer, music critic, and music administrator (1861-1924)

    Notable Roberts come mostly from Belgium (2), Mexico (1) and Austria (1).

    Spellings and sound-alikes

    Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

    Surnames that sound like Robert

    Robert has the Soundex code R163, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code R163.

    Questions

    Where does the surname Robert come from?
    From Anglo-Norman Robert, from the Old Frankish cognate of Old High German Hrodperht (normalised form: Ruodberht), from Proto-West Germanic *Hrōþiberht, from Proto-Germanic *Hrōþiberhtaz (literally “shining glory”). Displaced native Old English Hrōþberht from the same source, which would yield…
    How common is the surname Robert?
    12,181 people in the United States had the surname Robert in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 25,346 Americans. It ranked 2,944th of 162,253 surnames.
    What ethnicity is the surname Robert?
    In the 2010 Census, 71% of people named Robert identified as white (not Hispanic), and 16% as Black (not Hispanic).
    Who is the most famous person named Robert?
    Étienne-Gaspard Robert, Belgian stage magician and influential developer of phantasmagoria (1763-1837), followed by Raúl Fernández Robert.
    Where is the surname Robert most common?
    Wikidata records people named Robert in Belgium, Mexico and Austria.
    How do you pronounce Robert?
    Robert is /ˈɹɑ.bɚt/, 2 syllables.
    What type of surname is Robert?
    Robert is a patronymic surname, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.
    Is the surname Robert getting more or less common?
    More common. 12,129 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 12,181 in 2010, up 0.4%.
    Is Robert also a first name?
    Yes. Robert is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.