Name of the Week

 

A relative to one of Britain's most revered saints
and a place name both ancient and modern.

 

Origin:

Albany is the Anglicised name of Alba or Alban, alternate names for Scotland via the later Latinisation Albania. Alba was once the name given to the former Pictish kingdom which eventually incorporated the entire Scottish Kingdom of Alba, thus becoming the Gaelic name for Scotland. Alba derives from the same source as Albion, a more ancient name once used to mean the island of Britain. As Alba (from the Latin albus "white") was a name employed frequently for Roman towns, it is often thought that Albion derived from the same source, with reference to the White Cliffs of Dover. However, as the name Albion was an ancient one even for the Romans, a stronger theory suggests that it derives from the Proto-Celtic *albiyo "world" (referring to 'upper world' as opposed to 'under world'), which survives, via the Old Welsh elbid, in the modern Welsh elfydd "earth, land." Ancient Continental Celtic gods such as Albiorix and Albius further attest to the words early usage. Ultimately, in a full circle twist, it is most likely that both *albiyo and albus derive from the same Proto-Indo-European root, reconstructed as *albho- "white" by scholars. Albany, specifically, was used to denote the dukedom of Albany — an area of Scotland broadly parallel to the old Pictish kingdom — which was first bestowed as a title by King Robert III of Scotland on his brother, Robert Stewart, and has since passed down through British royalty.  Albany has also been used as a variant of the given name Alban. Three saints have borne the name; the most famous was the British soldier martyred in the 3rd century for whom St Albans is named. His name is often thought to derive from the Latin name Albanus meaning "of Alba Longa" (the ancient Italian city) but, as legend has it that he was a Romano-British native, it is likely to derive from the Celtic *albiyo.

Usage:

Alban has been in use as a given name in Britain since at least the 13th century, giving rise to various surnames such as Alban, Albon, Albone, Auban, Alliban and Allebone. Albany was occasionally used as a variant, though it was not especially common.  The Duke of Albany was established as a title in 1398 by King Robert III of Scotland, and was re-created several times, first through Scottish, then British royalty via the Stuarts. It has often been given to the second sons of monarchs. Charles I was given the title by his father before he became king, as did his second son, James II and VII. One of the last to bear the title was Prince Leopold, fourth son of Queen Victoria. Sheakespeare also featured a principle character named Duke Albany in King Lear.  Many towns and cities around the world are named Albany, such as Albany in Tyne and Wear. In many cases, such places were given the name thanks to the dukedom of Albany, as with the case of Albany, New York which was named after James II & VII while he was still Duke of Albany.  Though use of the name picked up from the 17th century, Albany wasn't used regularly as a given name until the 19th century. During this period the Tractarians revived Alban alongside the names of other pre-Augustianian saints, and so too was Albany. It was no doubt also blostered by association with the peerage title, which was restored again in 1881. Certainly, there was an increased birth count in the name following that year.  Records for Albany in UK census records are as follows: 1841: 45 males 1851: 67 males, 3 female 1861: 54 males, 1 female 1871: 105 males, 2 female 1881: 131 males 1891: 213 males, 1 female 1901: 278 males 1911: 249 males This usage of the name continued well into the 1930s, after which it began to wane. In the 1990s, though still rare, Albany began to be used more commonly for girls than boys, though today it is used so rarely that it isn't particularly weighted with either gender difinitively.  From 1996 to 2012, Albany has ranked eleven times in England and Wales (1996-1999, 2001-2005, 2007, 2012) with a birth count between 3 (#3998 in 2001) and 8 (#1970 in 1999). Alban is more common, having ranked consistantly each year since 1997. It's lowest point was #2254 (5 births) in 2002, while it reached its highest point last year in 2012 at #1270 (20 births). In 2012, Albany ranked #4838 (4 births) for girls in England and Wales, having not ranked for the previous four years.

Famous Bearers:

History:  * Albany Hancock (1806–1873), British naturalist and biologist. * Albany Bigard "Barney Bigard" (1906–1980), American jazz musician.

Variants:

Alban, Albion

Pronunciation:

AWL-bən-ee, AL-ən-ee [key]

Possible diminutives:

Albie, Ally, Barny

Sibling Names:

Blanche     Melina     Felicia     Gwyneth     Arabella     Elsbeth  Llewelyn     Roystan     Emrys     Benedict     Hubert     Leontin

Name Lists:

Gothic Victoriana

 

If you like Albany you may also like:   Albion, Rafferty, Idris, Algernon, Thackeray, Lindon, Augustine, Montague, Eugene, Alick

 

Thanks to Em for requesting Albany.