What is the origing of the surname "Roberts"?

Question:Is India or the West Indies linked?

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: Is India or the West Indies linked?

Roberts

English: patronymic from the personal name Robert. This surname is very frequent in Wales and west central England.

It is also occasionally borne by Jews, presumably as an Americanized form of a like-sounding Jewish surname.

Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4

So, it would only be linked to Inda or the West Indies if someone named Roberts went there from England.

It is the 43rd most common surname in the USA, according to the census

http://www.census.gov/cgi-bin/namesearch...

so the chance of a Roberts going somewhere by sea from England are pretty good. The English have been sailing around the world since Sir Francis Drake.

"Patronymic" means it started out "Robert's son" and got shortened to "Roberts".

It could be Chinese, too, if the young Mr, Roberts married a Chinese lady and his son did too.

no I think it is British or Welsh

The Root person of your surname had a father named Robert.

Surnames were not taken until the last melennium in most European countries. When they were through legitimate sons of the same man could have a different surname but each shared their surname with others with whom they were not related.

Also brothers of the Root person of your surname might have taken theirs based on their occupation, like Carpenter, Clark(clerk) Taylor, Fisher, Miller, Baker and the list goes on. Or they might have taken theirs from where they lived, the town they lived close to, the castle, lake etc. Or another brother could have taken his name from a description of him, Short, Sharp, Stout, Fairchild, Black, meaning black hair etc.

See the link below from the most prestigious genealogy organization in the U.S., The National Genealogical Society

http://www.ngsgenealogy.org/comconsumerp...