Robert was yet another name popularised by the Normans after the 11th century. Before then it had been occasionally used as a first name in the British Isles, but not often. From the Germanic name Rodbert, Robert came into English via Old French, as did many of those names that were adopted as surnames in Cornwall in the years between the 1300s and 1500s.
In the 1500s Robert wasn’t as ubiquitous as some other surnames and was almost entirely absent from north Cornwall. Furthermore, its two main locations in south-east and west Cornwall were separated by an area in which Robert was rarely encountered.
However, by 1861 Roberts had established a presence in that intervening area and across the south of the peninsula although its original geography was still faintly detectable; in particular note the absence of the name in north Cornwall. A healthy growth in the west allowed the 625 households headed by a Roberts to figure in our top ten. Moreover, Robert was one of the first surnames to get its <s>; as early as 1641 over half (57 per cent) were Roberts, not the original Robert.
Cornish studies resources 