Robertson
A patronymic surname meaning “son of Robert.”
The #175 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 2,009 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Robertson is a patronymic surname built from the personal name Robert plus the suffix -son, literally meaning “son of Robert.” The personal name Robert comes from Old Germanic roots meaning “bright fame” or “shining renown.” In Scottish and English usage, the surname developed independently in more than one place wherever a man named Robert was an ancestor worth identifying through his sons.
History
The name is especially important in Scotland, where it became associated with several Highland and Perthshire families. One 19th-century source links the Struan Robertsons to an early Scottish noble lineage and to Robert, son of Duncan of Atholl, though such clan histories can be simplified or romanticized in older reference works. In England it also appears as a straightforward patronymic, and by the modern era it became common across the English-speaking world.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Older surname dictionaries explicitly treat Robertson as the plain patronymic equivalent of “Robert’s son.”
From the historical record
“ROBERTS, ROBERT'S (Son) \ ROBERTSON, Robert's Son J ^' «"°eri. Adam fil. Roberti. — Hund. Rolls. ROBERTSHAW (Eng.) Dweller at Robert's Wood [v. under Robert, and + M.E. shati)(e, O.E. sc{e)aga, a wood] ROBESON = Robson, q.v. ROBEY = Roby, q.v.”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)Notable people named Robertson
- Cliff Robertson (1923–2011)
- Andy Robertson (b. 1994)
- Elizabeth Mitchell (b. 1970)
Sourced from Wikidata; linked to their Wikipedia page.