Given name & surname · also Celtic

Alban

“one who is white or fair; a man from Alba”

Alban is used as a given name and a surname. One Latin interpretation is “one who is white or fair; a man from Alba.”

Original LatinAlbanus

Meaning & origin

What it means

One Latin interpretation is “one who is white or fair; a man from Alba.”

Where it comes from

A possible origin is Celtic, although the derivation remains uncertain.

How it developed

From Latin Albānus (“resident of Alba”).

Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The story

Alban was in use during the Middle Ages.

Alban through the years

Babies since 1880
1,000
1,000 boys · 0 girls
Most popular year
2012
25 babies
2025
6
#10,741 for boys
2021–25 vs 2016–20
+14%
Rising
0102030192019401960198020002025Highest share 19153.5
Alban in U.S. Social Security birth records, 1912–2025, per million boys born. Years with fewer than five births for a sex are not published and appear as zero. Use the arrow keys to step through years.

By the numbers

In 2025, this name appeared in 6 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 10,741 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 13.6% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 25 in 2012. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 1,154 as a first name in 2020; 2,062 as a surname in 2020.

From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.

Alban’s family of names

In French usage, Alban has a diminutive in BANBAN. Alban has a related form in Albin. Alban has a related form in Albany.

Walk Alban’s family in the name graph

AlbanAlbonAlbieAlbinAlbiAlbyAlbanyAubinAlbanieAlbaniAlbeeAlbanoArbanAubenAlbeyAlbisAlbanaAlbanusAlbà

Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.

Hover or tab through the constellation to see how each name is related. Bigger dots are names more people in the U.S. share.

Around the world

Alban has relatives in 7 languages. Lines run from its Latin roots to each of them.

LatinAlbanian

Latinwhere Alban comes from · 1 name

Each dot marks where a language is rooted, not where people with the name live today. Bigger dots hold more names. Language locations from Glottolog (CC BY 4.0); map from Natural Earth.

Spellings & scripts 1

The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.

Across languages 3

Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.

Similar names

If you love Alban, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.

Latin · Modern

Arjan

Arjan is a masculine given name from Latin. It is used in Dutch and Albanian.

41UncommonRising fast

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Latin · Modern

Kaplan

Kaplan is a surname from Latin. It is used in English, Turkish, and Czech.

17Very rareRising fast

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Ancient Greek

Angelus

Angelus is a masculine given name from Latin, ultimately from Ancient Greek. It is used in English, Cebuano, and Latin.

15Very rareEasing

>99% boys

Latin · Modern

Kacper

Kacper is a masculine given name. It is used in Polish.

17Very rareCooling

>99% boys

Latin · Modern

Kastor

Kastor is a given name from Latin. It is used in Polish.

0Not recently recorded

>99% boys

Irish · Celtic

Aidan

“one who is fiery; little fire” · “a fiery young man”

66FamiliarEasing

99% boys · 1% girls

Latin · Modern

Vicenzo

Vicenzo is a given name from Latin. It is used in Galician.

13Very rare

>99% boys

Latin · Modern

Adamas

“earth”

0Not recently recorded

>99% boys

Sibling ideas

Names that share Alban’s feel without repeating its first letter or rhyming with it.

A brother for Alban