Meaning and background
The story behind Robinson
Robinson has a personal-name surname history through Robin, itself a diminutive of Robert. The Dictionary of American Family Names records English patronymic and French formations and also discusses likely literary influence from Robinson Crusoe in some West Indian and Guyanese use. The literary route remains qualified rather than universal. Those alternatives preserve both family-name formation and cultural borrowing without assuming one ancestry for every Robinson.
- Origin
- Surname involving Robin, a Robert diminutive; some West Indian and Guyanese histories may also involve the literary Robinson Crusoe. Source
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Everyday moments“Robinson, come here!”
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About Robinson
Recorded as a dog’s name
Robinson appears in 21 dog licence records in the 2022 New York City dataset.
How to read this count
These records cover New York City and may count the same dog in more than one licence period. They are not a national popularity ranking.
Pronunciation and rhythm
/ɹɑbənsən/
US English sound sequence, converted from the CMU dictionary. Stress marks are shown separately.
Stress on the first syllable in the recorded US readings.
View dictionary notation
/ɹɑbənsən/ · primary stress on syllable 1R AA1 B AH0 N S AH0 N
These are US dictionary readings. Personal, regional and other language pronunciations may differ.
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Sources and research notes (2)
Gender association: NYC licence-period records. Any dog can use this name.
- New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene NYC Dog Licensing Dataset — all seven available extract years, retrieved 24 October 2026 — Recorded name spellings in NYC licence-period rows, extract years 2016–2018, 2022–2024 and 2026. Evidence selects one stated year per name. Annual snapshots overlap; never sum them as unique dogs. No national popularity, etymology or owner naming-intent claim.
- Carnegie Mellon University / CMU Sphinx maintainers CMU US English Pronouncing Dictionary — US English dictionary readings; not owner-specific or exhaustive multilingual pronunciation
References support the individual facts shown. A source link does not mean the entire profile has been verified.