How popular is the baby name Robinson in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Robinson.

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Popularity of the baby name Robinson


Posts that mention the name Robinson

Name quotes #118: Dana, Lisa, Crusoe

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April is here, so it’s time for another batch of name quotes!

From an Instagram post by Irish television presenter Lisa Cannon:

I always feel oddly yet loosely connected to [the late Lisa Marie Presley] as I was an only child too and was named after her… Lisa Sara Marie Cannon – Lisa Marie because my father like the rest of the world was an Elvis fan and my middle name Sara after Bob Dylan’s Wife. My father at the time was a budding Rock Journalist for Hot Press Magazine & the NME in London so music of all genres was always playing in our home. When people ask you the origin of your name or who your named after it was always “Elvis’ daughter & Bob Dylan’s Wife” which always got a smile.

From a recent article about YouTube influencers The Newbys:

Tiny traveller Crusoe Newby is less than two years old — but has already tottered his way around 24 different countries.

[…]

Named after fictional castaway Robinson Crusoe, the hero of the 18th century novel by Daniel Defoe, he had travelled to 11 countries while still in the womb. But his official tally of 24 have all been racked up since his birth. His adventure started when Tara and John decided to sell their Bristol home and convert a £3,000 van to travel the globe in May 2020.

[…]

“Robinson Crusoe is John’s favourite book of all time because it inspired him as a young boy to think of a life of adventure.”

From the 2020 obituary of Dana Marie Ek in Fauquier Now:

Dana was born on October 19, 1995, in Astoria, Oregon. She was named after the Dana Glacier — located deep in the wilds of the Glacier Peak Wilderness Area, because her father thought it was the most beautiful place on heaven or earth.

From a 2007 article called “You Are What Your Name Says You Are” in the New York Times:

Sociologists like Mr. Besnard observed that first names [in France] were often quick markers of social and educational status. As another Libération reader, an elementary school teacher, pointed out: “I can often guess the ‘profile’ of a child thanks to the first name. A ‘Maxime,’ a ‘Louise,’ a ‘Kevin,’ a ‘Lolita.’ It’s sad, but that’s how it often works.” That is, Maxime and Louise probably have wealthy parents, while Kevin and Lolita are more likely to have a working- or lower-middle-class background.

Indeed, bourgeois French parents are unlikely to give their children “Anglo-Saxon” names; Jennifer was the most popular name for girls from 1984 to 1986, but it’s a safe bet few Jennifers came from well-educated families. (The craze is commonly explained by the success of the TV series “Hart to Hart” in France at that time — Jennifer Hart was one of the title characters — while “Beverly Hills, 90210,” featuring a popular character named Dylan McKay, is sometimes blamed for the explosion of Dylans a few years later.)

Babies named for William Leefe Robinson

William Leefe Robinson, VC (1895-1918)
William Leefe Robinson

Six months after the outbreak of of WWI, Germany began sending bomb-laden Zeppelins — which were notoriously hard to shoot down — across the North Sea to terrorize Britain.

Dozens of middle-of-the-night Zeppelin raids killed hundreds of British citizens and injured hundreds more.

Finally, in the wee hours of September 3, 1916, William Leefe Robinson became the first British pilot to shoot down a German Zeppelin over the United Kingdom.

Accounts of Robinson’s achievement — attributable to bravery, skill, and newly developed incendiary bullets — ran in newspapers and magazines across the country, along with photographs of the heroic 21-year-old airman.

On September 9, King George V presented Robinson with the Victoria Cross, the British military’s most prestigious award.

On October 22, in a letter to his parents, Robinson wrote:

As I daresay you have seen in the papers — babies, flowers and hats have been named after me also poems and prose have been dedicated to me — oh, it’s too much!

I am recognised wherever I go about Town now, whether in uniform or mufti — the city police salute me, the waiters, hall porters and pages of hotels and restaurants bow and scrape — visitors turn around and stare — oh it’s too thick!

Due to the commonness of the names William and Robinson, we may never know how many babies were named with William Leefe Robinson in mind. But here are several likely namesakes (all born in England):

  • Samuel Leefe R. Batley (b. Sept. 3, 1916)
  • George Leefe R. Smith (b. Sept. 5 1916)
  • William Leefe R. Cox (b. Sept. 9, 1916)
  • William Leefe R. Telford (b. Sept. 14, 1916)
  • William Leefe Robinson (b. Sept. 15, 1916)
  • William Leefe Robinson (b. Sept. 23, 1916)
  • William Leefe Robinson Jarrett (b. in the third quarter of 1916)
  • Leonard Leefe Robinson Martin (b. in the fourth quarter of 1916)
  • Walter Leefe Robinson Welland (b. May 18, 1917)

Soon after the first airship was shot down, others followed. (One that landed in Wigborough inspired a local family to name their baby girl Zeppelina.)

The final Zeppelin raid took place in August of 1918 — several months before the Armistice was signed and Germany was defeated.

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Leefe Robinson (public domain)

[Latest update: Sept. 2024]