Find out how popular the last name Alban is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Alban.

Alban, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Alban surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Alban in America

Alban is the 13893rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Alban surname appeared 2,173 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Alban.

We can also compare 2010 data for Alban to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Alban

The surname Alban is of English origin, derived from the Latin word "Albanus" which means "from Alba", referencing the ancient city of Alba Longa near Rome. The earliest recorded use of this name can be traced back to the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Albanus".

In medieval times, the name Alban was often associated with people from the town of St Albans in Hertfordshire, England. This town was named after the Roman-British martyr Saint Alban, who was believed to have been executed there in the 3rd century AD. The name may have initially referred to people living in or near this town.

One notable historical figure with the surname Alban was Richard Alban, a 14th-century English clergyman who served as the Bishop of Ardfert and Aghadoe in Ireland from 1346 to 1349. Another was William Alban, a 16th-century English printer and publisher who operated in London from around 1540 to 1570.

The surname Alban can also be found in various historical records across Europe, with slight variations in spelling. For example, the French form was often written as "Auban" or "Aubain", while in Germany it appeared as "Alban" or "Albanus".

One of the earliest known individuals with this surname was Herlembald Alban, a 12th-century Italian nobleman and military leader from Milan, who fought against the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa in the 1160s. Another notable figure was Mathieu Alban, a 15th-century French physician and writer who served as the personal physician to King Louis XI.

In the 17th century, the name Alban was also found in Scotland, where it may have been adopted by families of Norman descent. One example is Sir Andrew Alban, a Scottish courtier and diplomat who served as the Lord Provost of Edinburgh from 1643 to 1645.

While the surname Alban is not particularly common today, it has a rich historical legacy spanning various countries and centuries, often associated with notable figures in religious, literary, and political spheres.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Alban

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Alban.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Alban was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Alban has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Alban was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Alban, please contact us.

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