Robinson (name)

Robinson
Family name
Meaning "son of Robert"; "Robert" means "fame-bright"
Region of origin England
Language(s) of origin Old English
Related names Hopkins, Robertson, Robyns, Robins, Robens, Robbings, Robens, Robeson, Robison
Footnotes: Frequency Comparisons[1]; search baby names [2]

Robinson is an English language patronymic surname, originating in England. It means "son of Robin (a diminutive of Robert)". There are similar surname spellings such as Robison and Robeson. Robinson is the 15th most common surname in the United Kingdom.[1] According to the 1990 United States Census, Robinson was the twentieth most frequently encountered surname among those reported, accounting for 0.23% of the population.[3]

In Ireland, Robinson is only really common in Ulster. The two names had been used interchangeably in some areas of the province around the beginning of the 20th century.

Robinson, the compound word, is a rare given name, while its derivative, Robin, has the distinction of being both a masculine and feminine given name.[2]

Contents

Given name

Surname

See also

References

  1. ^ a b British Surnames
  2. ^ a b Search Baby Names — Search Results | BabyNames.com
  3. ^ United States Census Bureau (9 May 1995). s:1990 Census Name Files dist.all.last (1-100). Retrieved on 4 July 2008.