Robin (name)

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). There are several common variations, including Robyn, Robbin, Robine, Robyne, Robynne, and Robbyn.^[2] 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.^[1]

Robin

Robin Hood (statue in Nottingham)
Pronunciation	/ˈrɒbɪn/
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
[1]

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.^[3] In the United States, it used to be more popular as a feminine name. Around its peak popularity in 1956, it was the 29th most popular name for girls and the 143rd most popular name for boys.^[2] The gender gap has narrowed as the name has become generally less popular.

Gender distribution of babies named Robin in the United States, according to Social Security^[2]

Given name

People

• Robin Aitken (born 1952), British journalist
• Robin Allison, New Zealand architect
• Robin Antin (born 1961), American music video director, founder of the girl group the Pussycat Dolls
• Robin Barnett (born 1958), British diplomat
• Robin Bell (born 1977), South African-born, Australian slalom canoeist
• Robin Bell (scientist), American geophysicist
• Robin Bengtsson (born 1990), Swedish singer
• Robin Blaze (born 1971), English countertenor
• Robin Briant (born 1939), New Zealand doctor
• Robin Bonanno (born 1962), American race car driver
• Robin Boyd (architect) (1919–1971), Australian architect
• Robin Boyd (theologian) (1924–2018), Irish theologian and missionary
• Robin Brockway, British actor
• Robin Brown (disambiguation)
• Robin Bruyère (born 1992), Belgian politician
• Robin Buffet (born 1991), French alpine skier
• Robin Bush (1943–2010), English historian
• Robin Buxton Potts, Canadian politician
• Robin Chase, co-founder and former CEO of Zipcar
• Robin Choudhury, British cardiologist
• 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
• R. 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 Cooke, Baron Cooke of Thorndon (1926–2006), New Zealand judge
• 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
• Robin Day (1923–2000), British political commentator and journalist
• Robin Darwall-Smith, British archivist
• Robin Darwin (1910–1974), British artist
• Robin David (born 1950), Indian sculptor
• 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 the Bee Gees
• Robin Givens (born 1964), American actress
• Robin Goad (born 1970), American weightlifter
• Robin Goomes, New Zealand mountain biker
• Robin Gosens (born 1994), German footballer
• Robin Haigh (born 1993), Irish/British composer
• 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 Hurlstone (born 1958), British actor
• Robin Ince (born 1969), British comedian
• Robin Khuda (born 1979/80), Australian billionaire
• 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), news anchor for HLN's morning show Morning Express with Robin Meade
• Robin Miller (chef) (born 1966), American chef, host of Quick Fix Meals with Robin Miller
• Robin Montgomery (born 2004), American tennis player
• Robin Moore (1925–2008), American writer
• 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 Muhr (born 1995), Israeli Olympic equestrian
• Robin Nedwell (1946–1999), English actor
• Robin Nievera (born 1986), Filipino singer-songwriter
• Robin Packalen (born 1998), Finnish singer
• 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 Sirwan Safar (born 1992), Sweden professional boxer
• Robin Schulz (born 1987), German DJ, record producer and remixer
• Robin Shaw, American politician
• Robin Singh (disambiguation)
• Robin Daniel Skinner (born 1998), English singer-songwriter, record producer and YouTuber
• Robin Smith (disambiguation)
• Robin Söderling (born 1984), Swedish tennis player
• Robin Stevens (author) (born 1988), American-born English author of children's fiction
• Robin Stevens (puppeteer) (born 1960), English puppeteer, actor, director and writer
• Robin Stevens (rugby union) (born 1996), South African rugby union player
• 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 Tonniau (born 1985), Belgian politician
• Robin Trower (born 1945), guitarist for his own eponymous band and Procol Harum
• Robin Tunney (born 1972), Irish-American actress
• Robin Turner (footballer) (born 1955), English former footballer
• Robin Turner (priest) (1942–2023), British Anglican priest and military chaplain, Chaplain-in-Chief and Archdeacon of the Royal Air Force
• Robin Turner (statistician) (born 1976), New Zealand professor of biostatistics
• 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 (born 1966), American actress
• Robin Wright (author) (born 1948), American journalist, author and foreign affairs analyst
• Robin Wright (rugby union) (1885–1958), Irish rugby international
• Robin Wright-Jones (born 1950), American politician
• 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
• Yoon Ro-bin (born 1997), Korean female actor

Nicknames, pen names and stage names

• Robin, a pen name of Robert Walpole (1676–1745), British statesman
• Robin Clark (DJ), German hardstyle DJ and record producer born Tobias Hartmann (born 1982)
• Robin Cook, stage name of Jonas Ekfeldt (born 29 June 1971), Swedish music producer and singer
• Robin Cook, pen name of Derek Raymond (1931–1994), British novelist
• Rockin' Robin Roberts, stage name of American singer Lawrence Fewell Roberts II (1940–1967)
• nickname of Pauline Robinson Bush (1949–1953), daughter of George H. W. Bush

Fictional characters

• Robin Hood, legendary English outlaw
• Robin (character), Batman's sidekick from DC Comics
• Robin the Frog, Muppet nephew of Kermit the Frog
• Robin Branagh, from British children's TV series Young Dracula
• Robin Buckley, from the Netflix original series Stranger Things
• Robin Ellacott, one of the protagonists from the Cormoran Strike series of books
• Robin Goodfellow, common pseudonym of Puck in folklore
• Robin Griffin, main character from the series Top of the Lake by Jane Campion
• Robin Newman, law student in the video game Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney − Dual_Destinies
• Nico Robin, archaeologist in the manga series One Piece
• Robin Oakapple, main character in the opera Ruddigore by Gilbert & Sullivan
• Robin Ramzinski, main character in the film The Wrestler
• Robin Scherbatsky, in the American television show How I Met Your Mother
• Robin Scorpio-Drake, HIV positive doctor on the American soap opera General Hospital
• Robin Sena, main character in the anime Witch Hunter Robin
• Robin Sterling, from the fashion doll franchise Rainbow High
• Robin Swift, protagonist of the novel Babel, or the Necessity of Violence by R. F. Kuang
• Robin Vote, main character in Djuna Barnes's novel Nightwood
• Robin, from Mona the Vampire
• Robin (Fire Emblem), default name of main character from the video game Fire Emblem Awakening
• Robin, local carpenter and mother of Sebastian and Maru in the video game Stardew Valley
• Robin, caveman character from the BBC TV series Ghosts
• Robin, a playable character from Honkai: Star Rail

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
• Gabriel Robin (1902-1970), French painter
• Guillaume Robin, 15th-century French architect
• James Robin (1817–1894), South Australian businessman
• Jean Robin (disambiguation)
• Jean-Cyril Robin (born 1969), French former road racing cyclist
• Leo Robin (1900–1984), American composer, lyricist and songwriter
• Mado Robin (1918–1960), French coloratura singer
• Manas Robin (born 1976), 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

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