Robin

Robin arrives dressed for any weather, a small bird with a red breast and a Lincoln green legend trailing behind it. Originally a diminutive of Robert, clipped from the Germanic roots for bright and fame, it drifted early into its own life in English and French. Milne gave us Christopher Robin; ballads gave us the outlaw of Sherwood; midcentury America gave it to daughters, too, and never quite gave it back. Today Robin lands at 799, unisex without trying, more a pair of well-worn boots than a statement. It whistles. It keeps its own counsel.