This interesting name, first recorded in Scotland in the mid 15th Century, is a patronymic form of the male given name Rober, itself coming from Robert with the loss of the final "t". The ultimate origin of the name is the old German Hrodbert, a compound of the elements "hrod", renown and "berht", bright or famous, through the old French Rodbert. It was introduced into England by the Normans, and the forms Rodbertus, Rotbert and Robert are recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086. William Robertsone, noted in the 1327 "Pipe Rolls of Derbyshire" is the first recorded bearer of the patronymic in England. On October 5th 1657 Alisone, daughter of Alexander Robersone, was christened in Newton Midlothian, Scotland, and in November 1723 Elizabeth Roberson was christened in St. Botolph without Aldgate, London. This form travelled through France, and from there to Northern American territory, especially Wyoming. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Andrew Robersoun, (witness to the sale of a tenement), which was dated 1450, "The Register of Aberbrothock Abbey", during the reign of King James 11, of Scotland, 1437 - 1460. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

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