Roberto
A Romance-language surname and given name built from Robert, meaning “bright fame.”
The #8,706 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 81,895 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Roberto is the Romance form of Robert, from the Germanic name elements hrod, meaning “fame,” and beraht, meaning “bright” or “shining.” As a surname, it would usually have begun as a family name taken from an ancestor named Roberto. In some places it may also reflect the use of Roberto as a personal name that later became hereditary.
History
Because Roberto is widespread as a given name in Italian- and Spanish-speaking countries, the surname can arise independently in more than one family line. In English-language records it often appears as an immigrant or naturalized surname rather than a long-established native English one. The historical excerpts provided mention Roberto only incidentally, so they do not add much to the surname’s specific family history.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Roberto is one of the clearest examples of a surname that can simply mean “descendant of someone named Roberto,” without any occupational or descriptive twist.
From the historical record
“RicBcdu de Denby : ibid. Roberto* de Denby ; [bid. p. J6. BvB.de Denby: ibid. e. 104. Michael Denbigb, or Denby, 1506: PF. I, 44 and i, 109,”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances