Roberts


Select Roberts Surname Genealogy

Roberts is a patronymic name from the personal name Robert that was introduced to England by the Normans.  It appeared as Rodbertus, Rotbert, and Robert in the Domesday Book.

Roberts emerged as a surname in the latter part of the 13th century.  An early record was Richard Roberdes in the 1327 Worcestershire subsidy rolls.  The name was particularly common in Clwyd in NW Wales (formerly Denbighshire) and in Lancashire.  John Roberts from Llanwrst moved to Liverpool in the 1850's to build up a timber business and then returned to Wales to be an MP.  There was also a well-known Roberts family in Waterford in Ireland. 

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Select Roberts Names

Bartholomew Roberts, known as Black Bart, was the Welsh pirate who raided shipping in the Americas in the early 1700's.
Frederick Roberts, later Earl Roberts, was one of the most successful British Army generals during the Victorian era.   He was of Anglo-Irish stock.
Elizabeth Anne Roberts was one of the first female missionaries (in the 1880's) of the Presbyterian Church in Wales.
Andrew Roberts is a British historian and conservative commentator.
John G. Roberts is the 17th and current Chief Justice of the United States.
Julia Roberts is a well-known American actress.

Select Roberts Today

  • 220,000 in the UK (most numerous in Yorkshire)
  • 118,000 in America (most numerous in Texas)
  • 71,000 elsewhere (most numerous in Australia)
Roberts is the #10 ranked surname in the UK.