Robert Livingston was born on December 16, 1708 in Albany, New York, the eldest son of Philip Livingston (1686-1749) and Catharina Van Brugh Livingston.
He was the grandson of Robert Livingston the Elder (1654-1728), a New York colonial official, fur trader, and businessman who was granted a patent to 160,000 acres (650 km²/ 250 sq mi) along the Hudson River, and becoming the first lord of Livingston Manor.