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

Alber, 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 Alber surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Alber in America

Alber is the 14695th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Alber surname appeared 2,023 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 Alber.

We can also compare 2010 data for Alber 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 Alber

The surname Alber is believed to have originated in Germany, and it can be traced back to the Middle Ages. The name is thought to be derived from the Germanic personal name Albero, which itself comes from the Old High German word "alb" meaning "elf" or "supernatural being."

In its earliest forms, the name was often spelled as Albere or Albern in various regions of Germany. It is possible that the name was first associated with someone who was believed to have elf-like or otherworldly characteristics or appearance.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Alber can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus, a collection of historical documents from the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg, which mentions an individual named Albero de Woldenberg in the year 1233.

Another early reference to the name is found in the Urkundenbuch der Stadt Hildesheim, a collection of documents from the city of Hildesheim, which records a person named Henricus Alber in 1284.

In the 14th century, the name appears in the Urkundenbuch des Hochstifts Halberstadt, a collection of documents from the Prince-Bishopric of Halberstadt, where a certain Johannes Alber is mentioned in 1362.

A notable bearer of the surname Alber was Erasmus Alber (1500-1553), a German theologian and Protestant reformer who was a close associate of Martin Luther. He played a significant role in the Reformation movement and authored several influential works on theology and religious doctrine.

Another prominent individual with the surname was Johannes Alber (1499-1552), a German humanist and Protestant theologian who was also involved in the Reformation. He served as a professor at the University of Tübingen and wrote numerous works on theology, philosophy, and education.

In the realm of art, the name is associated with Albrecht Alber (1548-1594), a German painter and engraver who was active in the late Renaissance period. His works are housed in various museums and collections across Europe.

It is worth mentioning that the surname Alber has also been found in various spellings, such as Albers, Albrecht, and Alberty, in different regions of Germany and neighboring countries over the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Alber

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

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 Alber 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 Alber 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 Alber was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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