Robinson (name)
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.[2]
Language(s) | Old English |
---|---|
Origin | |
Meaning | "son of Robin"; "Robin" means "fame-bright" |
Region of origin | England |
Other names | |
Variant form(s) | Hopkins, Robertson, Robyns, Robins, Robben, Robens, Robbings, Robeson, Robison |
Frequency comparisons;[1] |
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. It can also be an Anglicization of such Jewish surnames as Rabinowitz and Rubinstein.
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.
Given name
- Robinson Canó (born 1982), Dominican professional baseball player
- Robinson Crusoe, fictional eponymous hero of Daniel Defoe's novel
- Robinson Jeffers (1887–1962), American poet
- Robinson Leyer (born 1993), Dominican professional baseball player
- Robinson Merchán (born 1974), Venezuelan road cyclist
- Robinson Odoch (born 1989), Ugandan basketball player
- Robinsón Pitalúa (1964–1985), Colombian boxer
Surname
A–D
- Adrien Robinson (born 1988), American football player
- Abraham Robinson (1918–1974), German-American mathematician
- Alastair Robinson, British botanist
- Alastair Robinson (rugby union) (born 1956), New Zealand rugby union player
- Albert William Robinson (1877–1943) Australian parliamentarian
- Alexander "Buck Alec" Robinson (c. 1901–1995), Irish boxer, loyalist paramilitary and Ulster Special Constabulary reservist
- Allen Robinson (born 1993), American football player
- Alton Robinson (born 1998), American football player
- Alvin Robinson (musician) (1937–1989), American R&B singer, songwriter and guitarist
- Amy Robinson (born 1948), American actress and film producer
- Amy Robinson (athlete), New Zealand field hockey and volleyball player
- Andrew Robinson (disambiguation)
- Andy Robinson (born 1964), English rugby union coach and former player
- Angus Hargreaves Robinson (1907–1973), Australian grazier and ornithologist
- Anna Lynch-Robinson, costume designer
- Anne Robinson (born 1944), British television presenter and journalist, host of The Weakest Link
- Annot Robinson, née Wilkie, nicknamed Annie, (1874–1925), British pacifist and suffragette
- Anthony Charles Robinson (born 1952), English business speaker, author and micro-enterprise campaigner
- Arthur Robinson (disambiguation)
- A. N. R. Robinson (born 1926), the President (1997–2003) and Prime Minister (1986–1991) of Trinidad and Tobago
- Barbara Robinson (author) (born 1927), American children's writer
- Basil Robinson (RAF officer) (1912–1943), pilot with RAF Bomber Command during World War II
- Basil Robinson (cricketer) (1919–2012), Canadian cricketer
- Basil William Robinson, British art scholar and author
- Benjamin Lincoln Robinson (1864–1935), American botanist
- Bernadette Robinson, Australian stage actress
- Bertram Fletcher Robinson (1870–1907), British journalist, editor, author and sportsperson
- Beth Robinson, member of the Supreme Court of Vermont
- Betty Robinson (1911–1999), American sprinter, winner of the first Olympic 100m for women
- Bill Robinson (author) (1918–2007), American editor, author and sailor
- Bishop Robinson (disambiguation)
- Bo Robinson (born 1956), American football player
- Brian Robinson (disambiguation)
- Brooks Robinson (born 1937), American baseball player
- Bryan Robinson (disambiguation)
- Cam Robinson (born 1995), American football player
- Carl Robinson (born 1976), Welsh football player
- Cedric Robinson (1940–2016), American author and professor of Black Studies
- Cedric Robinson (guide) (born 1933), guide to Morecambe Bay Sands, England
- Charles M. Robinson III, American author and illustrator
- Charles Mulford Robinson (1869–1917), American city planner and journalist
- Charles W. Robinson (born 1919), American business person and entrepreneur
- Chris Robinson (actor) (born 1938), American film and television actor
- Claire Robinson (born c. 1978), American cook and television host
- Claude E. Robinson (1900-1961), American pioneer in advertising and public opinion research
- Craig Robinson (basketball) (born 1962), American college basketball coach
- Cynthia Robinson (1944–2015), American trumpeter
- David Robinson (born 1965), American basketball player
- David Robinson (disambiguation), several other people
- Sir David Robinson (philanthropist) (1904–1987), British philanthropist and entrepreneur
- Denard Robinson (born 1990), American football player
- Derek Robinson (disambiguation)
- Dollie Lowther Robinson (died 1983), American politician and labor rights worker
- Douglas C Robinson (1884–1963), Gloucestershire cricketer
- Duncan Robinson (art historian) (born 1943), Master of Magdalene College, Cambridge, and art historian
- Duncan Robinson (basketball) (born 1994), American basketball player
- Dunta Robinson (born 1982), American NFL cornerback, playing for the Houston Texans
E–I
- Earl Robinson (1910–1991), American singer-songwriter, father of Perry Robinson
- Eddie N. Robinson (1873–1945), American college football coach
- Edmond Robinson (born 1992), American football player
- Edward Robinson (scholar), American biblical scholar
- Edward G. Robinson (1893–1973), Romanian-American actor
- Edwin Arlington Robinson (1869–1935), American poet
- Eleanor Robinson (swimmer) (born 2001), British para-swimmer and Paralympic gold medalist
- Elisha Smith Robinson, (1817–1885), paper and packaging manufacturer of Bristol, England
- Emily Robinson (born 1998), American actress
- Eric Robinson (disambiguation)
- Ezekiel Gilman Robinson, (1815–1894), American Baptist clergyman
- Fiona Robinson (born 1969), Australian basketball and handball player
- Floyd Robinson (singer) (1932–2016), American country singer
- Foster Robinson (1880–1957), Gloucestershire cricketer and businessman
- Frank Robinson (1935–2019), American baseball player and manager
- Frank Robinson (disambiguation), several other people
- Frank Norman Robinson (1911–1997), Australian wildlife sound recordist and ornithologist
- Frederick John Robinson, 1st Viscount Goderich (1782–1859), British statesman and prime minister
- Gene Robinson (born 1947), American, bishop of the Episcopal diocese of New Hampshire
- Sir George Best Robinson, 2nd Baronet (1797–1855), Chief Superintendent of British Trade in China
- George Robinson (disambiguation)
- George Robinson, 1st Marquess of Ripon (1827–1909), British politician
- Georgia Ann Robinson (1879–1961), American law enforcement officer and activist
- Gerald Robinson (born 1938), American priest, convicted of the murder of Margaret Ann Pahl
- Gerald Robinson (American football) (born 1963), American football player
- Gerald Robinson (basketball, born 1984), American basketball player
- Gerald Robinson (basketball, born 1989), American basketball player
- Sir Gerry Robinson (born 1948), Irish-born British businessman
- Gertrude Maud Robinson, British organic chemist
- Gil Robinson, American football player
- Gilbert de Beauregard Robinson (1906–1992), Canadian mathematician
- Gilbert Robinson, rugby league footballer of the 1930s for Great Britain, Wakefield Trinity, and Castleford
- Glenn Robinson (born 1973), American basketball player
- Glenn Robinson III (born 1994), son of the above, also a basketball player
- Greg Robinson (American football coach), American football coach
- Greg Robinson (running back), American football running back
- Greg Robinson (offensive tackle), American football offensive tackle
- Harvey Robinson, several people:
- Harvey Leigh Robinson (1908–1979), American football player and coach
- Harvey Miguel Robinson (born 1974), American serial killer and rapist
- Hannah Robinson, British songwriter
- Helen Ring Robinson (1878–1923), second woman to serve as a state senator in the United States
- Henry Robinson (disambiguation)
- Herbert Christopher Robinson (1874–1929), British zoologist and ornithologist
- Hercules Robinson, 1st Baron Rosmead (1824–1897), British colonial administrator, Governor of Hong Kong
- Hervey Robinson (born 1954), English professional footballer
- Ian Robinson (cricket umpire) (1947–2016), Zimbabwean cricket umpire
- Iris Robinson (born 1949), Northern Irish politician
- Isaac Robinson (disambiguation), several people
J–M
- Jack Robinson (disambiguation)
- Jackie Robinson (1919–1972), first African-American Major League Baseball player of the modern era
- Jackie Robinson (disambiguation), several other people
- Jamal Robinson (American football) (born 1993), American football player
- James Robinson (disambiguation)
- Jane Robinson (disambiguation)
- Jason Robinson (rugby player) (born 1974), English dual-code rugby international
- Jason Robinson (disambiguation)
- Jennifer Robinson (disambiguation)
- Jerry Robinson, comics artist
- Joan Robinson (1903–1983), British economist
- John Robinson (disambiguation)
- Joseph Robinson (disambiguation)
- Joyce Robinson (1925–2013), Jamaican public servant
- Julia Robinson (née Bowman, 1919–1985), American mathematician, first female president of the AMS
- Keith Robinson (disambiguation)
- Ken Robinson (disambiguation), multiple people
- Khalid Robinson (born 1998), American singer and songwriter known professionally as Khalid
- Khiry Robinson (born 1989), American football player
- Kim Stanley Robinson, (born 1952), American science fiction writer
- Larry Robinson, (born 1951), Canadian ice hockey player
- Lionel Robinson (1866–1922), principal of Clark & Robinson, Australian stockbrokers and racehorse owners
- Lionel Keir Robinson (1897–1983) antiquarian bookseller
- Lucius Robinson (1810–1891), New York Governor 1877–1879
- Lucy Robinson (actress), British actress
- Luke Robinson (disambiguation)
- Luther Robinson (born 1991), American football player
- Maria D. Robinson (1840–1920), British-Irish artist
- Mark Robinson (Northern Ireland politician), (born 1959), Northern Irish politician
- Mark Robinson (disambiguation)
- Mary Robinson (disambiguation)
- Marilynne Robinson (born 1947), American writer
- Matthew Robinson (disambiguation)
- Michael Robinson (disambiguation)
- Michelle Robinson (Michelle Obama, born 1964), American lawyer and First Lady of the United States
- Mitch Robinson (born 1989), Australian rules footballer
- Morgana Robinson (born 1982), British comedian
- Morris Robinson (born 1969), American operatic bass
- Moses Robinson (1741–1813), American statesman, governor of the Vermont Republic (1789–1790), one of the first two United States senators from the state of Vermont (1791–1796)
- Moushaumi Robinson (born 1981), American track and field sprinter
- Muriel Robinson (born 1954), British academic administrator and education scholar
N–Z
- Nate Robinson (disambiguation)
- Nathan Robinson (disambiguation)
- Neville Robinson (1925–1996), British physicist
- Nick Robinson (American actor) (born 1995), American actor
- Norm Robinson, Australian rugby league footballer and coach
- Patricia Robinson, Trinidadian economist
- Paul Robinson (disambiguation)
- Perry Robinson (1938–2018), American jazz clarinetist and composer, son of Earl Robinson
- Peter Robinson (disambiguation)
- Phoebe Robinson, American comedian, writer, and actress
- Piers Robinson, British writer and former academic
- Porter Robinson, American electronic musician
- Rachel Robinson (born 1922), widow of Jackie Robinson and founder of the Jackie Robinson Foundation
- Raphael M. Robinson (1911–1995), American mathematician
- Ray Charles Robinson (1930–2004), American pianist commonly known as Ray Charles
- Reggie Robinson (born 1997), American football player
- Richard Robinson (disambiguation)
- Rix Robinson (1789–1875), American politician
- Robert Robinson (disambiguation)
- Rodney Robinson (born 1978), American educator
- Rod Robinson (born 1976), professional football player
- Roger Robinson (poet), British/Trinidadian writer, musician and performer
- Romona Robinson (born 1959), American television news anchor
- Ronald Robinson (1920–1999), British historian of Africa
- Samuel Robinson (disambiguation), many individuals
- Samuel Robinson, alias of South American philosopher and educator Simón Rodríguez (1769–1854)
- Seamus Robinson (fencer) (born 1975), Australian fencer
- Séumas Robinson (Irish republican) (1890–1961), Irish Republican
- Shawna Robinson (born 1964), American female NASCAR driver
- Sidney Robinson (disambiguation)
- Sozhasingarayer Robinson (born 1980), Basketball player for India's national team
- Smokey Robinson (born 1940), African-American R&B and soul singer and songwriter
- Spider Robinson, (born 1948), American science fiction writer
- Stanley L. Robinson (1890–1967), American football player and coach
- Stephen Robinson (born 1955), American astronaut
- Steve Robinson (disambiguation)
- Sugar Ray Robinson (Walker Smith Jr., 1921–1989), American boxer
- The Swiss Family Robinson, characters in eponymous books and films
- Thomas Robinson (disambiguation)
- Todd D. Robinson (born 1963), American diplomat and ambassador
- Tony Robinson (born 1946), British television comedy actor and political campaigner
- Trent Robinson (born 1977), Australian Rugby League coach for the Sydney Roosters
- Tyree Robinson (born 1994), American football player
- V'Alonee Robinson (born 1992), Bahamian sprinter
- V. Gilpin Robinson (1851-1942), American politician
- Vicki Sue Robinson (1954–2000), American singer and actress
- W. Andrew Robinson (born 1957), British author and editor
- W. Heath Robinson (William Heath Robinson, 1872–1944), British cartoonist and illustrator
- William Robinson (disambiguation)
- Winifred Josephine Robinson (1867–1962), American botanist