Robin (name)

Robin

Robin Hood (statue in Nottingham)
Pronunciation	UK English /ˈrɒb.ɪn/, American English /ˈrɑb.ɪn/
Gender	Unisex (Originally only male)
Origin
Word/name	France, Germany
Meaning	"Fame-bright", diminutive
Other names
Related names	Robinson, Robbin, Robine, Roben, Robyn, Robbyn, Robben, Robert

Robin is a unisex given name and a surname. It was originally a diminutive masculine given name or nickname of Robert, derived from the prefix Ro- (hrod, Old Germanic, meaning "fame" and berht, meaning "bright"), and the suffix -in (Old French diminutive). In Europe, although it is sometimes regarded as a feminine name, it is generally given to boys. In 2014, 88% of babies named Robin in England were boys. In the United States, it used to be more popular as a feminine name—during the 1990s, for example, it was the 325th most popular name for girls and the 693rd most popular name for boys. However the gap has been narrowing and recently the number of baby boys and baby girls named Robin in United States has been roughly similar (as visualized in the adjacent chart). In 2014 46% of babies named Robin in United States were boys, which is about three times that figure in 1990.

Gender distribution of babies named Robin in the United States, according to Social Security

There are several common variations, including Robyn, Robbin, Robine, Robyne, Robynne, and Robbyn. Robin has its origin in France and is also a very common surname in France. Robin is occasionally found as a surname in English-speaking countries. Common nicknames are Rob, Robbie or Bobby. Robin may refer to:

Given name

• Robin Aitken (born 1952), British journalist
• Robin Allison, New Zealand architect
• Robin Antin (born 1961), American-born music video director, best known for being the creator for the hip-hop/R&B group Pussycat Dolls
• Robin Barnett (born 1958), British diplomat
• Robin Bell, American scientist
• Robin Bengtsson (born 1990), Swedish singer
• Robin Blaze (born 1971), English countertenor
• Robin Boyd (architect) (1919–1971), Australian architect
• Robin Boyd (theologian) (1924–2018), Irish theologian and missionary
• Robin Brockway, British actor
• Robin Brown
• Pauline "Robin" Robinson Bush (1949–1953), daughter of George H. W. Bush
• Robin Bush (1943–2010), English historian
• Robin Buxton Potts, Canadian politician
• Robin Chase, co-founder and former CEO of Zipcar
• DJ Robin Clark (born 1982), German hardstyle DJ and record producer
• Robin Cole (born 1955), American football player
• Robin Coleman (born 1973), American actress and strongwoman
• Robin R. Means Coleman (born 1969), American author, scholar and educator
• Robin G. Collingwood (1889–1943), English philosopher, historian and archaeologist
• Robin Cook (1946–2005), British Member of Parliament, used the name instead of his given name Robert
• Robin Cook (American novelist) (born 1940), American doctor and novelist
• Robin Cousins (born 1957), British Olympic gold medal figure skater
• Robin Curtis (born 1956), American actress
• Sir Robin Day (1923–2000), British political commentator and journalist
• Robin Darwall-Smith, British archivist
• Robin Darwin (1910–1974), British artist
• Robin de Kruijf (born 1991), Dutch volleyball player
• Robin Dutt (born 1965), German football manager
• Robin Fernando (1937–2022), Sri Lankan actor
• Robin Finck (born 1971), guitarist for Nine Inch Nails and Guns N' Roses
• Robin Gibb (1949–2012), member of the pop group trio, the Bee Gees
• Robin Givens (born 1964), American actress
• Robin Goad (born 1970), American weightlifter
• Robin Gosens (born 1994), German footballer
• Robin Hartshorne (born 1938), American mathematician
• Robin Herman (1951-2022), American sports journalist
• Robin Hobb (born 1952), American fantasy author
• Robin Hunter (1929–2004), British actor
• Robin Ince (born 1969), British comedian
• Robin Knox-Johnston (born 1939), British sailor
• Robin Korving (born 1974), Dutch hurdler
• Robin Laws (born 1964), Canadian violinist
• Robin Leach (1941–2018), host of Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous
• Robin Lodders (born 1994), German basketball player
• Robin Martin-Jenkins (born 1975), English cricketer
• Robin Meade (born 1969), lead news anchor for HLN's morning show Morning Express with Robin Meade
• Robin Miller (chef) (born 1966), an American chef, host of Quick Fix Meals with Robin Miller
• Robin Morgan (born 1941), American writer and women's rights activist
• Robin Moulder (born 1966), bassist for the bands TCR and Jack Off Jill
• Robin Moore (1925–2008), American writer
• Robin Nedwell (1946–1999), English actor
• Robin Nievera (born 1986), Filipino singer-songwriter
• Robin Peace, New Zealander social scientist
• Robin Pecknold (born 1986), American singer, songwriter and guitarist, lead vocalist for Fleet Foxes
• Robin Quivers (born 1952), American radio personality, co-host of The Howard Stern Show
• Robin Roberts (baseball) (1926–2010), American baseball player
• Robin Roberts (newscaster) (born 1960), American newscaster
• Robin S. (born 1962), American dance vocalist
• Robin Schulz (born 1987), German DJ, Record producer and remixer
• Robin Singh (disambiguation), various people
• Robin Daniel Skinner (born 1998), English singer-songwriter, record producer, and YouTuber
• Robin Smith (comics), British comic book artist
• Robin Smith (cricketer) (born 1963), South African-born English international
• Robin Smith (chess player) (1952–2009), American correspondence chess champion
• Robin Söderling (born 1984), Swedish tennis player
• Robin Stevens (puppeteer) (born 1960), English puppeteer, actor, television director, and writer
• Robin Stevenson, Canadian children's book writer
• Robin Tait (1940–1984), New Zealand discus thrower
• Robin Lord Taylor (born 1978), American actor
• Robin Tenney (born 1958), American tennis player
• Robin Thicke (born 1977), Canadian-American R&B singer-songwriter and musician
• Robin L. Titus (born 1954), Republican member of the Nevada Assembly
• Robin Trower (born 1945), guitarist for his own eponymous band and Procol Harum
• Robin Tunney (born 1972), Irish-American actress
• Robin Uthappa (born 1985), Indian cricketer
• Robin van Persie (born 1983), Dutch football player
• Robin Ventura (born 1967), American baseball player and manager
• Robin Waterfield (born 1952), British classical scholar
• Robin Williams (1951–2014), Academy Award-winning American actor and comedian
• Robin Williamson (born 1943), Scottish musician and founding member of The Incredible String Band
• Robin Windsor (1979–2024), professional dancer
• Robin Wright, actress
• Robin Yalçın (born 1994), German footballer of Turkish descent
• Robin Yount (born 1955), baseball player
• Robin Zander (born 1953), lead singer and rhythm guitarist for the rock band Cheap Trick
• Robin (singer) (born 1998), full name Robin Packalen, Finnish singer
• Rockin' Robin (wrestler) (born Robin Smith, 1965), American WWF performer

Fictional characters

• Robin Hood, legendary English outlaw
• Robin (comics), Batman's sidekick from DC comics
• Robin Goodfellow, common pseudonym of Puck in folklore
• Robin the Frog, Muppet nephew of Kermit the Frog
• Robin Vote, main character in Djuna Barnes's novel Nightwood
• Robin Scherbatsky, in the American television show How I Met Your Mother
• Robin Scorpio-Drake, HIV positive doctor on the American television soap opera General Hospital
• Robin Sena, main character in the anime Witch Hunter Robin
• Robin Oakapple, main character in the opera Ruddigore by Gilbert & Sullivan
• Robin, from Mona the Vampire
• Robin Ellacott, one of the protagonists from the Cormoran Strike series of books
• Robin Branagh, a character from British children's TV series Young Dracula
• Robin, default name of main character from the video game Fire Emblem Awakening
• Robyn Miller, a character from British TV series Casualty
• Robin Griffin, main character from the series Top of the Lake, by Jane Campion
• Robin, local carpenter and mother of Sebastian and Maru in the video game Stardew Valley
• Robin Buckley, character from the Netflix original series Stranger Things who first appears in the third season
• Robin, caveman character from the BBC TV series Ghosts
• Robin Newman, law student in the video game Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney − Dual_Destinies
• Robin Nico (Nico Robin), archaeologist of the Straw Hat Pirates in the manga series One Piece
• Robin Ramzinski, main character, better known by his ring name Randy "The Ram" Robinson, in The Wrestler
• Robin Mittal ( Founder Corporate Raasta Consulting)

Pseudonyms

• Robin, a pen-name of Sir Robert Walpole

Surname

• Charles Robin, businessman from the Isle of Jersey
• Charles-Philippe Robin (1821–1885), French anatomist and biologist
• Dany Robin (1927–1995), French actress
• Emily Robin (1874–1929), British bordello owner
• Gabriela Robin, singer and lyricist
• Guillaume Robin, 15th-century French architect
• James Robin (1817–1894), South Australian businessman
• Jean Robin (writer) (born 1946), French writer specializing in occult
• Jean-Cyril Robin (born 1969), French former professional road racing cyclist
• Leo Robin (1900–1984), American composer, lyricist and songwriter
• Mado Robin (1918–1960), French coloratura singer
• Manas Robin (born 1979), Indian singer, composer and lyricist.
• Marie-Monique Robin (born 1960), French journalist
• Marthe Robin (1902–1981), French Roman Catholic mystic
• Martial Robin (born 1977), French football player
• Michel Robin (1930–2020), French film, stage, and television actor
• Régine Robin (1939–2021), novelist, writer, translator and professor of sociology
• Ron Robin (born 1951), Israeli historian and President of the University of Haifa
• Teddy Robin (born 1945), Hong Kong English pop singer-songwriter, actor, and director
• Victor Gustave Robin (1855–1897), French mathematician

Fictional characters

• Christopher Robin, young boy in A. A. Milne's work, most notably his Winnie-the-Pooh books
• Fanny Robin, in Thomas Hardy's novel Far from the Madding Crowd

See also

• Robin (disambiguation)
• Robyn (name)
• Robbyn
• Robben
• Robinson (name)
• Robene and Makyne, genre names for characters in Scottish pastourelle