This surname is derived from the name of an ancestor. 'the son of Robert,' from nick. Rob, and diminutive Rob-in; compare Col-in from Nicholas. The number of entries in the London Directory is sufficient proof of the early popularity of Robin. Birds, flowers, and weeds soon took possession of the name, the ruddock giving way to robin-redbreast so completely as to cause the earlier name to be forgotten.

'Now am I Robert, now Robin.'

Chaucer, R. R. 6337.

Dera Robins, Cambridgeshire, 1273. Hundred Rolls.

John Robin, Oxfordshire, ibid.

Robin le Gentyle, Close Rolls, 4 Edward I.

Robin le Herberyer. Rotuli Litterarum Clausarum in Turri Londinesi.

William Robyn, Somerset, 1 Edward III: Kirby's Quest.

Roger Robynsoun, 1379: Poll Tax of Yorkshire.

Roger Robyn-man (the servant of Robin), 1379: ibid.

Adam Robyn-man (the servant of Robin), 1370: ibid.

1606. Baptised — William, s. Arthur Robinsonne: St. Peter, Cornhill.

The "son of Robert" from Robin, a diminutive form of the name. The tenement of John Robynson in Irvine is mentioned in 1426 (Irvine I, p. 130), and another John Robynsone was bailie of Glasgow in 1477 (REG., p. 458). Andrew Robersoun witnessed the sale of a tenement in Arbroath in 1450 (RAA., II, 91). The name was common in Glasgow in the sixteenth century (Protocols). That Robin was early considered a diminutive of Robert is shown by an entry in 1483 (LCD., p. 195) where the same individual is referred to as Robyne of Hall and Robert of Hall.

Robin’s Son, v. Robin.

This English name has become very numerous in Ireland, especially in Ulster. MIF 282*

“Son of Little Robert”.

(English, Scottish) The son of little Rob, a pet form of Robert (fame, bright).

The son of Robin, or Robert.

(English), Robin's son. Sir John Beverley Robinson, Bart., Chief Justice of Canada West, is son of Christopher Robinson, Esq., an American Loyalist, and an officer of the Queen's Rangers, who d. 1798.

From the Old Norse, Robbi, from Hróbjartr (Robert); from the Flemish, Robyns, Robson, Robisson; a personal name.

Robinson. —Distributed all over England, except in the south - west, where it is either absent or extremely rare. Its great home is in the northern half of the country, the numbers rapidly diminishing as we approach the south of England. Northamptonshire may be characterised as the most advanced stronghold of the Robinsons on their way to the metropolis. Robson, which is, I suppose, a contraction of this name, is essentially a north of England name, being very numerous in Northumberland and county Durham, and extending in diminished numbers across the border into the shires of Roxburgh and Dumfries.

Robinson is a patronymic, in other words a name derived from the father’s name. (Though inevitably, as the name was handed down, the original father became a great-grandfather and so on.) This habit of handing down names was particularly prevalent amongst the Vikings. (Even today, Ericson and Anderson feature far more prominently in the Stockholm telephone directory than Smith and Jones in the London counterpart.) For this reason it used to be assumed that all names ending in ‘-son’ were of Viking origin-especially as many of these names originated from the north of England in the area occupied by the Vikings. Research has shown however that names ending in ‘-son’ occurred in English before the Viking invasions, and also originated later in southern areas untouched by the Vikings.

In England, before Henry IV’s reign, a son did not necessarily take on his father’s name (whether by calling himself ‘-son’ or simply by adopting the father’s surname). But from this time on the practice became almost universal. (One of the last recorded instances of this not happening is in the 1431 records, which mention one Robertus de Lynly, filius Thomas Johnson.) In southern Lancashire, to facilitate tenure of land, daughters were occasionally named after their fathers, with the addition of ‘-daughter’ to the original name. These awkward names quickly fell out of use, however.

Robinson (or occasionally Robison) thus derives from ‘son of Robin’. Robin itself is a diminutive of the French name Robert, popular in Normandy and England in medieval times. This French name had in turn originated from the Old German name of Rodbert, derived from ‘hroth’ which means ‘fame’ and ‘berht’ which means ‘bright’. So the name Robert would represent a parental wish for the child’s ‘fame-bright’ future.

After the Norman Conquest, Robert quickly became a popular name in England. It appears frequently in the Domesday Book, and has been amongst the dozen most popular first names in England ever since. The main surprise here is that England has never had a king called Robert. Scotland, on the other hand, has had several. The most famous of these was Robert the Bruce, the scourge of the English at the Battle of Bannockburn. (This may well account for the lack of Kings called Robert in England.) The naming of kings has always been a serious business, with past history and superstition often playing no small part. (No King of England would want to take on the name of his victorious Scottish counterpart.) Despite its simplicity (or perhaps because of the popularity of those who held it) the name Robert soon spawned innumerable derivatives and nicknames. Rob, Nob and Dob were amongst the earliest-and today’s more popular Bob only came on the scene several centuries later. Rab and Rob were evolved in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Robin is a diminutive of the nickname Rob, and quickly became so popular that by the middle of the thirteenth century there were more Robins than there were original Roberts. Though England may never have had a King Robert (or Robin), one of its most popular heroes is Robin Hood.

The earliest Robinson to appear in the records is one John Robynson. He is listed in the Court Rolls of the Manor of Wakefield for 1324.

Londoner Henry Crabb Robinson (1775—1867) was a famous controversialist of his day, noted for giving lively Sunday morning breakfast parties that attracted literary guests like William Blake, Charles Lamb, Coleridge and the Wordsworths.

The modern garden owes much of its style to British landscape designer William Robinson (1838—1935). A passionate believer in the natural garden, he launched and won a vigorous life­long campaign against the rigidly formal architectural gardens popular in his early career.

Noted Canadian-born US-based illustrator and political cartoonist Boardman Robinson was strongly influenced by French political cartooning in his student days. His own trenchant World War I cartoons brought him world-wide fame. He also illustrated classics like Moby Dick and The Brothers Karamazov, and created the murals in New York’s Rockefeller Center and Washington DC’s Department of Justice.

Wildly inventive illustrator W. Heath Robinson (1872—1944) specialised in drawings of incredibly complex machines which served no useful purpose. Since then any elaborate or over­wrought piece of equipment has become known as a ‘real Heath Robinson’.

There are no related geographic or place names in the United Kingdom. Both Australia and South Africa have towns called Robinson, while there are 2 such towns in the United States and in Canada. The US also has towns called Robin and Robinette, while Canada has a Robinsonville and a Robinvale. Australia has the Robinson range of mountains. The name is geographically fairly common.

With about 194,000 namesakes Robinson is the 14th most popular surname in England and Wales. (The name is not common enough throughout Scotland to be counted separately.) Robinson is notably popular in and around Teesside where an estimated one in about 127 families bears the name. In descending numerical order Bradford, Leeds and Sheffield are other Robinson strongholds. Around the world Robinsons are most common in Sydney (one in 502 families), Auckland (one in 515) and Wellington (one in 542). The United States has more Robinsons than the entire population of Bradford-an estimated total of just under 508,000 makes this their 22nd most popular surname.