Robina
Feminine · “bright fame”
Robina is a Scots feminine of a man's name, built by adding a Latin ending rather than a French one, which is what Scotland did where England borrowed. A tree in Paris carries a surname of the same family and has been standing since the seventeenth century.
How old is the name Robina?
Robina first appears in US birth records in 1884 — 141 years ago. The typical Robina alive today was born around 1954, making them about 71 years old. About 400 people named Robina are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Robina most popular?
Robina peaked in 1884, reaching #1024 nationally. See the whole 1884 chart.
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
The story of Robina
The oldest tree in Paris is a black locust planted by Jean Robin, gardener to three French kings, from seed sent from Virginia; it stands propped up in a square on the Left Bank and still leafs every year. Linnaeus named the whole genus Robinia after him and his son, who ran the royal garden that became the Jardin des Plantes. The tree turned out to be one of the most successful introductions in European history — fast-growing, nitrogen-fixing, rot-resistant timber — and also one of the most invasive, now a problem species across central Europe. A gardener's memorial has spread rather further than anyone intended.
Meaning
bright fame
The man's name behind it joins two Germanic elements, one meaning fame and one meaning bright, and arrived in Britain with the Normans. Scots made feminines of men's names systematically — Williamina, Thomasina, Davina — and this is one of them.
Pronouncing Robina
roh-BEE-nuh
Three syllables with the stress in the middle. Some families say ROB-in-uh, treating it as the bird name with an ending, which moves the weight forward.
Nicknames for Robina
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1884
- Most girls named
- 195421 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1024reached in 1884
- Change vs 1991
- −16.7%5 in 2022, from 6
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Robinas among us
people named Robina are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Robina sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- The Scots pattern behind it is genuine and well attested.
- Middle stress on three syllables is the easiest rhythm English offers.
- Six letters with no silent ones make it simple to spell aloud.
- Robena, Rubina and Robyna will all be written for it.
- Stress placement is unsettled, so strangers will say it two ways.
- It is frequently taken for an elaboration of the bird name.
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What they receive
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Robina
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Robinas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 400 people named Robina are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Robina in 2025?
- Robina is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Robina with classmates?
- Robina will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More R names
The most-given names starting with R, all years combined.
Ruth#173 · Rebecca#349 · Rachel#250 · Rose#114 · Ruby#64 · Robin#704 · Rita#1285 · Rhonda#6116
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Robina? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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