2000
#14,530
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,881
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.70
Rare Last name
Alban
Derived from the Latin name Albanus, likely referring to someone from Alba (the ancient name for Scotland) or Albania.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,365 Americans carry the last name Alban. That puts it at #13,999 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.69 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 144,928 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Alban surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Alban with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.4K
1 in 144,928
Census rank
#13,999
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,062 bearers of the surname Alban in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.69 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13999th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Alban, the largest self-reported group is White at 52.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (39.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (5.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Alban
Among Census respondents with the surname Alban, the largest self-reported group is White at 52.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (39.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (5.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Alban bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Alban surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White52.1% · 1,074
- Hispanic or Latino39.2% · 809
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.8% · 119
- Two or more races1.8% · 37
- Black or African American0.9% · 19
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Alban
Alban appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#13,893
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,173
+292 bearers (+15.5%)
Per 100,000 0.74
Rank movement Up 637 places
2020
#13,999
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,062
-111 bearers (-5.1%)
Per 100,000 0.69
Rank movement Down 106 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #14,530 | 1,881 | 0.70 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,893 | 2,173 | 0.74 | +292 bearers (+15.5%) | Up 637 places |
| 2020 | #13,999 | 2,062 | 0.69 | -111 bearers (-5.1%) | Down 106 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Alban surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #13,893 | #13,999 | -0.8% |
| Count | 2,173 | 2,062 | -5.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.74 | 0.69 | -6.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Alban bearers went from 2,173 to 2,062 (-5.1% change). The surname moved down 106 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,893 to #13,999.
FAQ
Alban surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Alban?
Name Census estimates that about 2,365 living Americans carry the surname Alban. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 144,928 residents.
How common is Alban?
Alban ranks #13,999 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.69 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,062 people with the surname Alban. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,365), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.69 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.69 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Alban.
Has Alban become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Alban went from 2,173 recorded bearers to 2,062. That is a decrease of 111 (-5.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #13,893 to #13,999.
What does the Census say about the background of Alban?
Among Census respondents with the surname Alban, the largest self-reported group is White at 52.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (39.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (5.8%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Alban in the 2020 Census, accounting for 52.1% (1,074 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Alban appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (52.1%), Hispanic (39.2%), Asian/Pacific Islander (5.8%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Alban (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Alban mean?
Derived from the Latin name Albanus, likely referring to someone from Alba (the ancient name for Scotland) or Albania. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Alban (0.69 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the surname Alban?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.