roby

Roby is a surname and a given name, and it also appears as a place name in several English-speaking countries. As a given name, Roby is typically a diminutive form of Robert and has been used independently in some contexts, particularly in the 19th and early 20th centuries. As a surname, Roby may be patronymic, derived from the given name of an ancestor, or toponymic, originating from a place named Roby in England or elsewhere.

The toponymic origin is linked to places named Roby in England, from which the surname spread to other parts of the British Isles and North America through migration. The spelling Roby is one of several variants of the root name, with Robey, Robie, and Robbie appearing in different traditions or periods.

Geographically, Roby is found most often in English-speaking countries, both as a surname and as a place name. There is a district named Roby in Merseyside, England, and other locales bearing the name exist in different regions, reflecting its use as a local identifier as well as a family name.

Because Roby overlaps with related forms, it appears in historical records, genealogies, and modern naming alike, illustrating the broader popularity of names derived from Robert in the English-speaking world.