Albin
A surname with several possible roots, including a medieval French place-name form and an older Latin/Christian personal name meaning “white” or “pale.”
The #7,765 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 72,255 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The name may come from the Latin personal name Albinus, from albus, meaning “white” or “pale.” In medieval England and France it also appears in forms connected with Aubin / Saint Aubin, where the same Latin root lies behind the name. Some historical surname notices treat Albin as a baptismal or patronymic name, “son of Albin” or “son of Alban,” while others link it to French place-name usage.
History
The excerpted dictionaries show the surname in medieval English records in forms such as Albin le Porter and Albinus de Supelford, suggesting early use in England. Lower also connects the name with William de Albini, a famous Anglo-Norman family whose name appears in medieval Latinized and French forms. In later usage, Albin also survives as a surname in Anglicized, French, and occasionally Irish contexts.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The same Latin root that underlies Albin also produced the very common medieval personal name Albanus/Albinus, so the surname could point either to “the white/pale one” or to descent from someone bearing that Christian name.
From the historical record
“ALBIN. Albau. ALBINT, DE. William de Albini at- tended William the Conqueror at the Con- quest. Wace mentions him as " the butler d'Aubignie." Rom. de Rou. Taylor, p. 221, where some genealogical notes will be found. But Wace is in error in calling tlie Hastings warrior, " hotcilkTS,"' since tlie official surname…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom