Name of the Week: Alba

 

Origin:

Alba is an ancient name, established as a place name for thousands of years.  Alba is the Gaelic name for Scotland, once the name given to the former Pictish kingdom which eventually incorporated the entire Scottish Kingdom of Alba. Before that the related name Albion was used as a name for Britain as a whole, and now regarded as a poetic name for England. Both Alba and Albion have been traced back to the Proto-Celtic word *albiyo- "world" which was used to mean the light upper world, as opposed to the dark underworld.  Alba was also a Latin word -- the feminine of albus -- meaning "white, clear, bright." It was frequently used as a place name in the Roman world, the most famous of which being Alba Longa. This was an ancient town even to the Romans and they cited it as the place where their famous founders, Romulus and Remus, were born.  Most scholars agree that the Celtic *albiyo- and Latin albus are both from the same ancient Proto-Indo-European root: *albho- "white." The branches of this word can be found in many languages, and have long been connected with the dawn, presumably because sunrise brings with it the bright clear light. Alba is the Italian, Spanish, Romanian and Catalan word for "dawn, sunrise," and cognate forms such as the French aube and Portuguese alva are prevalent.  Alba was the Occitan word for dawn also, which became associated in the Middle Ages with a type of lyrical poetry describing lovers who separate from each other at dawn. This, in turn, inspired the medieval aubades -- a love song or poem, opposite to a serenade, sung to a lover at dawn -- which was taken from the Provencial auba and French aube "dawn".

Usage:

Albus (Alba in its feminine form) was used by the Romans as a cognomen. Examples of the name Albus for Roman men are uncommon in use however. There are no examples of Roman women named Alba, but given that the names of very few Roman women have been preserved down the ages, and the family name was already uncommon, perhaps that is understandable. It appears that the cognomen was very soon lengthened to Albinus, as was the fashion. Here, we find many more instances of Albinus in use, and also the feminine form Albina. St Albina was a 3rd century Roman martyr, and there are several other Roman martyrs who answered to the name.  There is evidence to suggest that Alba was in some little use during the Middle Ages, most likely as a feminine form of Albus, Alban or Albin(us), the latter of which were in use thanks to the veneration of Saint Alban and Saints Albinus. One female named Alba in mentioned in the Assize Rolls of Norfolk in 1315, and the DMNES has a record of one Albana in France in 825. Overall, however, the name was rare.  There are a few examples of the name in use in the 16th century, especially focused in and around Kent. This was still the case by the time of the 1881 census, when the name was recorded 13 times as a given name, mostly in the South East.  Alba has been used as a surname since the Middle Ages across the Continent. In Britain, it took the form Albe or Aube, based on the French descendants of albus. In Spain, Alba is an aristocratic family name, belonging to the Dukes of Alba.  Alba was the name initially given to Lord Byron's daughter with Claire Clairmont after the dawn, but when Byron took custody of the child, her name was changed to Allegra.  The name continued to be used moderately from the 16th through to the 20th century. Births in England and Wales per decade were as follows: 1840s: 1 birth 1850s: 3 births 1860s: 3 births 1870s: 5 births 1880s: 3 births 1890s: 11 births 1900s: 15 births 1910s: 7 births 1920s: 8 births 1930s: 9 births 1940s: 11 births 1950s: 15 births 1960s: 11 births In 2003, Audrey Niffenegger's debut novel Time Travelers Wife was released. It became a best-seller and won a National Book Award in 2006 in the Popular Fiction Award category. The success of the book, and of the follow up film in 2009, can be seen in the notable change in popularity of the name in Britain.  Another current influence on the name is most likely Alba Violet Bale, daughter of Welsh professional footballer Gareth Bale who plays for Real Madrid and the Wales national team. Alba Bale was born in October 2012, but she hit the media when Gareth was transferred to Real Madrid for a record breaking fee. More recently, young Alba Bale has received media attention, when she appeared on the pitch after Wales' success in the World Cup of 2015.  From 1996 to 2006, Alba was used in the same moderate in England and Wales use as it had been throughout the 20th century, averaging between 4 and 15 births each year, and remaining well below the top 1000.  After 2006, the name began to rise, and by 2010 the name ranked #773 (47 births). The name has been rising ever since, reaching #378 (118 births) in 2013 and #273 in 2015.  Curiously, in Scotland, the name was little used in the latter part of the 20th century, and was not registered at all in the 1970s and only two girls received the name in the 1980s and five in the 1990s.  It has been used more regularly in the 21st century, picking up from 2005 when it ranked #687 (3 births). It has been used consistently and increasingly each year since, jumping up from #802 (3 births) in 2010 to #229 (19 births) in 2011. It peaked at #155 (30 births) in 2013. In 2015 the name ranked #156 with 29 births.

Famous Bearers:

History: * Alba Silvius, an ancient Roman king of Alba Longa. * Alba Clairmont (1817-1822), birth name of Allegra Byron, daughter of Lord Byron.  Contemporary: * Alba Milana (b.1959), Italian long-distance runner. * Alba Gaïa Bellugi (b. 1995), a French actress. * Alba Bale (b.2012), daughter of footballer Gareth Bale.  Literature and Other Media: * Alba DeTamble, a character in Audrey Niffenegger's 2003 novel The Time Traveler's Wife and 2009 film.  Other: * A flower of the hybrid Rosa × alba.

Variants:

Alva (Portuguese)

Pronunciation:

AL-bə [key]

Possible  diminutives:

Albie

Sibling Names:

Cora     Lena     Willa     Esme    Belle    Nova  Leon     Jude     Arlo     Maxwell     Rex     Lochlan

Name Lists:

Modern Antiquity  Ripe Renovations  Resonant Roman

  

If you like Alba you may also like:   Juno, Hebe, Livia, Elsa, Lila, Margot, Orla, Aoife, Avalon, Luna

 

 Thanks to Jennifer for requesting this name.