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You can't go wrong with Robert. I have known a few who were always called Robert, so I don't think the nn is automatic, and anyway, once a Robert has grown up he may insist on any nn he wants.

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Bob is definitely not a nn you see on young boys or even young men. You don't even see Bobby as much anymore. You do see a lot of little Robbies and those tend to grow into Robs.

I find it boring and dated on one level, but at least standard and sensible on another. I think Rob is more popular than Bob on a nn level, so it prob'ly wouldn't be hard for a young Robert to avoid Bob... Bob has an image of someone over 40 and maybe over 50...

I'm a fan of Robert, the only reason I wouldn't use it myself is that I like Robin more.

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Robert was my grandfather's name and he went by Bob. But I think Rob and Robbie would come just as naturally. It depends what the user and their acquaintances. I prefer Robbie.

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I find -bert endings handsome. They remind me of Schubert, which I think is a beautiful surname. Hubert is my fave, probably because it's closest to Schubert.

Bob is so out of fashion, I don't think you'd have to worry about anyone calling him that. Rob is more likely. Although Robert is not as fashionable as it used to be, it's still well within the top 100. I don't think it could ever be called dated...a Robert could be any age.

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Robert is manly and dignified, and I've always liked it.

My eldest son is Robert, he's 26. He was called Bob mainly in primary school, which i didn't like. He now is Rob/Robert. My brother in law is Robert, but has been called Bob for most of his life, he's 73.

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I love the name. It's solid, classic, handsome and will age very well.

My husbands name is Robert. It was also his fathers name. So he went by Robbie throughout high school. We will use it as a middle name if we have another boy. I think it's a good strong name and I like the meaning.

At least where I live, I doubt that people would call him Bob, which has long since gone out of fashion. Some people might call him Bob jokingly, but I don't imagine it going beyond that. All of the Roberts I have met under the age of 40 or so have gone by Robert, Rob, or Robby / Robbie. Even my uncle who is in his late 40s goes by Rob. If I remember correctly, the Bobs I know are all at least 60, although there might be some in their 50s.

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Robert isn't a name I would use myself, but I don't mind it all that much. I used to really dislike the sound of it, and I'm still not too keen on it being close to the word "robber", but it's a respectable name.

This message was edited 7/5/2012, 5:59 PM

Not every Robert is called Bob. I know three Roberts under 30 and none of them are called Bob (two are Rob, one is just Robert). However, I know plenty of Bobs over 30.

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People should realize that not everyone goes by a nickname. My maternal grandfather is Patrick and that's what everyone calls him - he's never called Pat. And nickname usage is declining. Personal example: I know about 10 girls my age named Elizabeth: one is Liz, one is Libby, and one is Beth (though she isn't very nice, so I dislike this nickname), and the rest are Elizabeth without any nickname.

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If anything, I think the British are bigger on nicknames these days, since they use nicknames as legal names so darn often. I mean, compare Bobby's and Libby's popularity as full names in the United Kingdom to their popularity in the United States.

This message was edited 7/5/2012, 5:29 PM

Robert is a classic name that I just don't like. I don't like the "bert" ending. I do like the nickname Rob, but not the full name.

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Every Robert I've ever known was called Bob. I've not known one that went by the full name. I don't think you'd have a problem avoiding Bob, though. I think that the full name, Robert, is perfectly doable.

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But I do believe that a name should be avoided if you have an absolute loathing for and would have a big objection to any of its nicknames, because you can't always control what nickname a child will end up with when s\he is older, either because s\he wants that nickname or other people start using it and s\he doesn't object. My husband's parents decided he was going to be a Jamie and later on in life he became a Jim. My sister named her son Jaime (JAY-mee) rather than James because she didn't want him to ever be called Jim, and, much as I dislike Jamie as a full name and really don't get the Jaime spelling for it, I can see her reasoning.